april
by julia bebop
Summary: this was a middle chapter of a saga called kids in amercia. i want to find the rest on old disks that i have and hopefully have the rest of the stories up someday!
1. Chapter 1

April

We are all fools when we play the wrong time on the wrong things.

By Julia Macgregor

"What do you mean?" Alex asked as he and Nick stood in the back yard of Nick's house. Alex was curious to the question, what was Nick up to?

Nick had hundred of times of being the deliver of bad news with Schanke or Tracy. He should be an old hand at the telling of the heart breaking news. He thought this was different. Alex was more than just a friend to Rio. "I went to the hospital," Nick began to say before his mouth went dry.

"And?" Alex asked, as he thought of it was a personal thing between Nick and Nat.

"Mina, Ayeka and Keiichi are at the hospital."

"Why?" Alex asked when he shrugged his shoulders. He wondered what was Nick driving at.

An image flashed in Nick's mind's eye. It wasn't pretty at all to remember the images of the victims. Nick uttered, "They got beat up!"

"Who did that to them?" Alex said as he screwed up his lips in an off expression.

"We aren't sure yet!" Nick was trying to make everything into a smooth path. "I saw someone at the hospital."

"Who?" Alex was starting to get bored with the talk.

"Rio!" Nick said as gently as he could.

"Uh?" Alex gasped as he did a double take. Was he hearing Nick's words right? "What. . .as a visitor?"

Nick's mouth went dry when he swallowed hard. He looked like he wasn't joking. Then, he shook his head. "She is in DCU!"

"Are you joking?" Alex shook his head. Nick's eyes were incredibly truthful. Alex flew into a rage.

Nick grabbed at Alex's hands. He knew how much Alex cared for Rio. His hands were pinned to his sides by Nick's hands. His eyes turned in a fiery red. Nick said in a soothing voice, trying to clam down Alex, "If you don't want to believe me. . .then, I'm taking you over!"

Nick took Alex to the hospital. Nick had Terri paged. When Terri came to the main entrance, he had some questions to be answered. Terri asked, "Nick. . .why are you here? I thought I sent you home."

Nick didn't say anything. Terri asked for a second time, "You are getting Nat?"

"No. . ." Nick hesitated. His mouth went dry. He didn't want to see Alex's grief up close. This former Templer Knight was now PI. He had seen it all. His heart groped for answers. Then, he blurted it out, "I have brought Alex over. . .I know it's getting near dawn soon."

"Show what?" Terri shook his head slightly. He wondered what Nick was telling him.

Alex seemed to answer all the questions that he was handed all on his own, "Is Rio in the hospital?"

"Yes," Terri said. "You want to see her?"

"Yes . . .no. . .I don't know, " Alex gasped, raising his hand in quick movements in front his upper chest. He felt the formation of pained hot tears.

"Come," Terri said with a gentle voice. He saw the same look on the others faces before. "It might you both some good!"

Alex and Nick followed Terri down the hall. When Alex stood in the doorway of Rio's room, Terri warned him to be quiet. Any loud noise or confusion would cause Rio to go into consultations. The virus that Rio had was highly toxic. "You'll have only five minutes. She needs quiet as she recovers," Terri said in a gentle tone.

"O.K." Alex nodded. Then, he opened the door. He stepped in the room, holding his breath. He heard the life support machines. He let his eyes get use to the dark, Alex saw a dim light, glowing from the over bed light. Alex's eyes met with Rio's sleeping form.

A voice seemed to be so distance that Alex didn't even hear it. It was Terri saying, "I'll leave you two alone!"

Alex seemed to be floating on air as he came close to the bed. He had to hold his pain and anger in. His eyes traveled up to Rio's face. He saw the IV and vent. "Rio. . ." Alex said softly.

There was no response. Then, Alex saw the bandages over Rio's eyes. He felt a small sparks of rage starting in his heart. He gasping, holding everything in, "What happened?"

The wash of deep sadness hot Alex's heart with an iron fist. He felt his knees buckling a little. He had to find a chair. There was a chair near a wall. He walked over to it. Slowly Alex dragged the chair over the right side of the bed.

Rio's mechanical breathing and soft beeping noises meant that Rio was in her own world. Rio was in deeper area to where even her nightmares couldn't reach her. Alex sat sown. He tried to say what he flat. He learned a little against the bed rail. "Rio," he gasped.

There wasn't even a twitch of her hands to tell Alex, she was listening, "What. . .who could do this to you!"

He raised his hands to the top of the rail. "I will make you a promise!"

A couple of tears rolled down Alex's cheeks. "I'll get those who hurt you!" Alex sniffed. He turned his face away and raised his right hand to rake his fingers through his thick curls. He started to weep bitterly.

Then, there was a knock on the door. A figure opened the door. The figure said in a female gentle voice, "Alex . . .Time is up!"

"Uh?" he said. Then, he turned to see Rio for one last time.

The figure said, "It's me, Nat!"

Alex sat up in the chair. He sniffed, trying to hold back his sadness. Then, he said, "I'm coming!"

He couldn't move out his chair. His tears were pinning him to the chair. Nat walked into the room. She came up to Alex and saw the tears on his face. He gasped, "I'm sorry for crying!"

"For what?" Nat gazed down at her undead brother. Although he was a vampire, he was still capable to have feelings and a human heart.

"I have been a friend to her since she was a baby!"

"Does she know who you are?" Nat asked. She knew about the secretly she kept Nick's other life for years. Now she had her own secret to hold for all time.

"Yes, but . . .she didn't mouth a single word. She has a secret too. This isn't the place."

Nat placed a hand on Alex's shoulder. She said gently, "It's getting late. Why you don't you go home. Rio is in good hands. If they're any changes. Someone will call O.K."

"Sure!" Alex sighed painfully.

"As my grandmother would say, God looks after the sick and hold them in his hands until they are strong!"

Days past, Mina, Ami, Keiichi, Steve and Michuri came home with tender care. Sasami was also gone home after a couple of days later following Ayeka's operation. The staff use only for a couple of hours for a live transfusion. Sasami hoped to see her sister soon. Dusty was slowly recovering. He was still in pain. When he woke up, wondering where he was. The doctor who was assigned to him said, "You are at Salem Community Hospital."

"Mum?" Dusty asked in a dazed state.

"She isn't here!" the doctor said softly.

"O.K." Dusty drifted back to sleep. He knew somehow his mother would come. He didn't want to get worked up about her coming. Then, he stared to talk in has sleep.

Ayeka's woke up in confusion. The last thing she remembered was laying on the cold parking lot. Now she was in a warm bed with tubes in her body. Then, she saw a familiar face. "Tenchi?" she gasped.

Tenchi had stopped over to see how Ayeka was doing. He sat on a chair at the left side of Ayeka's bed. "Hi. . .Ayeka," Tenchi whispered.

"It's you!" Ayeka smiled weakly. "Oh, Tenchi."

Leaning forward, Tenchi said, "You rest."

"What happened . . .I want to know!" Ayeka yawned. She tried to remain calm.

"You were shot in the leg," Tenchi said. He glanced at the bed railing. She didn't need to be told the truth. Yet, she had a right to know.

"Why? Was it Kagoto?"

"No. . . We don't know. We are having the police finding the who behind the shooting!"

"Why did they shoot me?" Ayeka sighed as she cast her eyes down at her hands. "Because I'm a princess!"

Tenchi shook his head. He didn't know how to explain what really happened. He wasn't sure himself to the events, which took place of the attack night.

Three lights and Jakten came to see how Rio was doing. Rio was sitting up in bed with an aid of a pillow. The fresh dressing around her eyes meant there was hope for her. Jakten asked the charge nurse how the progress was doing. The nurse told Jakten, Rio was healing slowly.

The Three lights walked to Rio's hospital room. They each carried a single rose in their hands. If Rio couldn't see the roses, she could at least smell them.

Rio was off the vent. She rested her lungs from all the mechanical breathing. She tired to keep what little dreams she had left, guarded as thorough they were precious gems of the soul. Rio's hearing was sharpened after the lost of her sight. She heard the Three Lights entering the room. She asked a little weary, "Who is it?"

Seiya said as he came up to the bed, "It's me Seiya! I have a surprise for you!"

"Yea?" Rio sighed. She tired to move in the bed to get a little more comfortable.

"You want to talk to Yaten and Taiki?" he asked her.

"Is that the surprise?" Rio questioned the led singer of the Three Lights.

"No. . .get some," Seiya smiled. He was going to play a testing game with Rio. He leaned forward a little as held out the rose for Rio to smell.

"Hmm, it smells good!" Rio smiled weakly.

Taiki and Yaten came up to either sides of the bed. The slight, sweet smell of the roses was a slight comfort to her. She asked, "Did you bring roses for me?"

"Yes," Taiki said. "We have a vase too!"

"Thank you!" Rio said.

"How do you feel?" Yaten asked.

"I'm still sick, I'm getting use to it. Terri told me that my blood count was tested. He hasn't told about the out come yet. I can't stomach food!"

"Why?" Seiya asked. He knew if she couldn't eat. Then, the medicine couldn't work. He saw the IV pole with two clear plastic bags standing off to the side. He knew Rio needed time to heal.

"I'm sure it's the crap they have been filling me up with!" Rio winced.

"Rio . . .don't say things like that"! Taiki scolded.

"It's the truth. I'm too weak from the virus to even think," Rio yipped. She fleet like crying.

Seiya wanted to hold Rio. The drugs and pain made even Seiya's head swim. He asked Taiki for the vase that they brought with the roses. Yaten began to talk to Rio. He and his brothers had to encourage Rio to eat.

Jakten walked down the hall. He knew Rio was his brightness student, until now. He didn't expect her going blind at a young age. How were they going to save Acardia if she couldn't see? He stopped in front of the door. He heard the conversation between the Three Lights and Rio.

A nurse walked up to the room with a tray in her hands. He introduced himself as Rio's guardian. He asked in a loud whisper, "Is this for Miss Lyonstone?"

"Yes. She tires to eat. . .but, she is too sick to get anything down!" she replied back in a whisper.

"I hope she can get better," Jakten sighed. He watched the nurse enter the room.

"Thank you," Rio said. She heard the nurse placed the tray on the over bed table. She smelled the main dish.

"Oh, soup!" Seiya was trying to sound cheerful.

"It look . . .eh . . .it smells good!" Serena said. She came overt to see how Rio was doing. She came to Rio's room and was surprised to see the Three Lights.

"Serena. . .is that you?" Rio questioned the leader of the inner senshi.

"Yes, it's me!" Serena said in a cheery tone.

Jakten saw Serena standing next to Seiya. He asked her when she showed up. She told Jakten that she stopped in for a visit with Ayeka. Ayeka was holding her own. Rio was another story. Jakten saw the necklace that Rio used to transform into Sailor Acardia. He asked, "What was that Rio's?"

"Yes. She told me to take it home with me!" Serena said.

"She has a good friend in you during her time in here!" Jakten said somberly.

Then, they heard Rio getting mad about the loss of her sight. Seiya and Taiki were trying to clam her down. Then, Rio's inner sight kicked in. Her hands were thing to reach for the over bed table. What was she doing?

Serena and Jakten dated over to the bed. Rio was upset to the point of nearly screaming. Serena said soothingly, "Terri is working very hard to get your sight back."

"A lot you know!" Rio cried out.

"He and Miss Washu are trying to see how the virus retracts to which medicines they have on hand. If they can find one of them, you will become strong and on the road to getting your sight back!" Taiki said.

"I don't ask for this . . .why am I be punished?" Rio said. She thumped the bed with her opened palms. "How can I see?"

Then, she flatted out her hand. Taking it in a sweeping ark, Rio roughly took out the bowl. It went flying to the floor. "I'm no longer a princess. Give the title to Stephanie. What is the use if I can't see my dreams!"

"Rio!" Jakten said sharply. "Stop it!"

She blindly hit the bowl. It went flying across the table and flew off the table. It clanked to the floor. Thumping the table top with both hands, Rio felt like crying. She uttered as she brought her hands up to her forehead, "Leave me . . .alone!"

The fourth day, Ayeka was sitting up in bed. She was growing stronger with each day. Her doctor was talking about releasing her on the following week. She was hoping that Tenchi was O.K. He seemed to believe that Ayeka was recovering slowly. The fact of Sasami coming home was both a joy and puzzle. The doctor who preformed the operation on Ayeka told the others that Sasami was a lifesaver.

Ryoko was duty when she came to Ayeka's room. She held an armful of books and magazines as she entered the room. She walked up to Ayeka's bed. The princess had her eyes closed. She tired to rest after her wound was treated. She heard Ryoko entering the room. "Are you asleep?" Ryoko asked quietly.

Ayeka half opened her eyes as she breathed loudly, "A little!"

Ryoko tuned to arrange the books and other things on the over bed table. "Do you feel like any reading?" Ryoko asked a little cheerful.

"No." Ayeka sighed. "How is Sasami?"

"She is going to be back in school at the end of the week!" Ryoko said as she tried to found a book to cheer upon Ayeka.

Ayeka smiled weakly, "I'm glad that she is not hurt!"

"Yea!" Ryoko said. She found a book that Ayeka could while she was recovering.

Then, they heard Rio's voice coming from down the hall. Ayeka was curious. She never thought Rio was able to get around. She asked Ryoko what was Rio doing. "They were wheeling Rio to Dusty's room for a small visit!" Ryoko said.

Ryoko walked to the doorway to see Rio's bed being pushed down the hall. Then, she walked back to Ayeka's bed.

"Can they do that?" Ayeka asked as she noticed another book on the over bed table.

"Yes. Early this morning they took her off of the vent tube. She is strong enough for an oxygen mask!" Ryoko turned to glance at the door.

"How is Dusty?" Ayeka sighed. She was being a little nosy.

"He's still pretty weak," Ryoko said. Then, she turned back to see Ayeka nodding off. She walked over to the nightstand. Placing a second book on the stand, Ryoko said, "Washu will be here later on tonight!"

Ayeka said in a sleepy tone of voice, "How are you eating?"

"Since Sasami was used for that transfusion, she is still a little weak. Hmm?"

"Oh . . ." Ryoko said. She was happy to finally get an answer. Miss Bell and her sisters helped with preparing home cooked meals. Then, Doc Lambert and her husband were making sure that Tenchi was on time for class with some help from Miss Gina!"

"What are Miss Gina, Nat and Nick helped Tenchi?"

"Tenchi got gassed or something to after you were shot," Ryoko said. Then, she turned back to see Ayeka nodding off. She had made a reference to the night of her fallen friend. She sighed, "Sleep tight. I hope this is the end to this unknown madness!"

At the Goddesses' home, Belldandy was taking up a bowl soup to Keiichi. Keiichi was still a little under the weather. He was getting stronger. Skuld and Urd put their little squabble on hold until Keiichi got better.

Belldandy saw Skuld studying in the front room. It seemed like Skuld was a normal kid and not a Goddess. Deep down, Skuld could heal Keiichi. The youngest Goddess would notice Belldandy would be sad if Keiichi became worst. Skuld buried herself in her studies. Robot building seemed to lose its flavor. She shoved a hand under the book was reading. Skuld felt drained for the past week of a dulling net from school. There have been through a grueling trail of tears and heartache. On the other hand, there were some joys and blessings. Still it was a long way to go. She slammed the book shut. Both hands were now up to her face, Skuld rubbed it. She had lost something in the fight. Could she found it the connections she had with the others?

"You would like?" a voice asked gently.

Removing her hands, Skuld turned her head up to see a figure standing in front of her. It was Urd who hovered in front of the youngest Goddess. She felt like Urd was being nosy. She snapped, "No. . .I don't want anything!"

"What's wrong with you?" Urd griped loudly. She was very much shocked by her littler sister's outburst.

"Nothin'," Skuld uttered a little coldly. Her lips trembled as a couple of tears rolled down her face. She sat quickly. Her stomach felt sick. She stood up with her knees shaking. She began to walk weakly out of the room. "I'M LEAVING!" she yelled out.

She walked past Urd. Belldandy turned as she stood on the stairs. She watched Skuld walked to the foyer. The youngest Goddess nearly groped her coat off the hook. Skuld threw on her coat and didn't bother buttoning it up. Walking over to the fornt door, Skuld grunted. She fumbled for the lock as she fought back the tears. She opened the door to a gray day. She whispered, "I'm sick of this place!"

"Skuld!" Belldandy whispered. She hoped that Skuld wasn't going to do something foolish. "Please come back!"

The words seemed to be a plea. The middle Goddess knew the others were walking on eggshells when the feeling anger and helplessness were coming to a boil. Belldandy could feel her heart starting to break.

The fifth day was a strong hold of forbearing and deadly danger. Ruby the bounty hunter wanted to see of Rio was getting worst from the virus that she has used to make Rio go blind.

Little did she know that was someone else who was followed her?

Ruby used a spy sphere droid to gain accesses if any at Salem Community hospital. The droid was set in stealth mode. She has a wrist computer, which was in the form of a normal looking watch. Ruby had changed her appearances into a common looking human woman who was lost in the hospital.

A man dressed in a gray suit and black leather jacket was walking up to the entranceway of the hospital. He was on to Ruby. He was a second bounty hunter. He helped Nick and the police with trying to track down Ruby. Or how successfully he and his sidekick, a hologram named Tex were still slow in snaring Ruby and her crew. With the data the two gathered, it seemed be to leading into somewhat a surprised dead end.

The man was coolly looking for Terri. The man was also interested in Rio's condition. Little by little she was improving. She was still had the bandages over her eyes. Three times a days Terri or another doctor cleaned off Rio's eyes.

The man wore a special type of eyeglasses, which you could see if the person standing into the line of vision was of the planet or an off worlder.

Rudy was trying to find where the ICU was. The search was easy; yet trying to find Rio was another thing all together was a different one to crack. For protection of the attacked young people had assumed names.

Ruby hoped to ask a nurse. She found all the nurses were busy. The man had stood in the wall way near the doorway of a waiting room. He watched a TV, which hung from a corncer of the room. He hoped to see even a glimpse of Ruby. It was good luck on his part if Ruby did show up. The man heard the waiting room door open. Three people entered the room, a woman holding a toddler by the hand and a man with a short red beard. In the rim of the glasses flickered as the man saw how had entered the room. The three people were now talking about the weather didn't even notice the stranger. The woman picked up the child before settling down in a chair near the door. The man stood next to the woman.

All appeared to be normal. The glasses didn't decide any selections movements from the three.

A few minutes had past. The man went back to watch the TV. The door opened for a second time. A figure stepped into the room. The man turned to see Terri walking to him. There was a look of concern on Terri's face. He asked, "Would you like to step outside?"

"Yes," the man nodded.

"In the long run," Terri said in a quiet tone. "Rio will be out of the hospital in no time!"

Terri and the man stood in an empty end of the hallway. The man asked, "What about her eyes? She will be able to see again?"

"Yes, but you got to understand that healing her eyes is a difficult and delicate process to perform. I'm not sure how long before we remove the last of the threads. . .is anyone guess!" Terri sighed.

Then, the man saw a stranger wondering the hall from the comer of his eye. He winced at the red lights coming from his glasses, which were flashing in his eyes. Terri only noticed the pained expression on the man's face. He asked, "Are you O.K.?"

"I'm fine. It's just a headache!" the man was covering up his use of the computerized eyeglasses.

"O.K." Terri said. Then, he heard his name being paged. Excusing himself, the man watched as Terri left the hall.

The man watched as the woman walking up the hall. She was really Ruby looking for Rio. She didn't know that she was walking into a trap. Ruby wore a long sleeved shirt to protect her battle-scarred arms. She did take a beating from Rio on the night she stole the young girl's sight. The man also wore a ling sleeved shirt. He had another trick up his sleeve. In the past, he carried a small tiny metal tube in his left sleeve. In the tube was a micro fine needle filled with a highly powerful sedative. If he could sneak up on her, then, he would have his work cut out for himself.

The woman didn't have nay leads on finding the transparent girl. She had to start on the other day, another lead. Ruby walked down the hall. The man had to act fast. He watched with an eagle's eye skill. He hoped that she would go to the parking lot. He would have to track her down. Not in a rush and snag. More like a gentle tap on the shoulder. She would feel a little lightheaded during a brief caught off guard monument. It sounded too easy and could work as well as any other plan he had.

In an instant, he tapped her on the shoulder; Ruby felt a slight, sharp shock on her shoulder. Turning her head to see how was tapping her on the shoulder. She saw the man as she stood, staring at her. His expression on his face was plain and wordless. He pointed to his wrist. Ruby asked, "You want the time?"

He nodded. The sedative should work within a five-minute period. Ruby told the man it was going on three in the afternoon.

Within an hour, Ruby would be a board a high security ship, headed to the distance planet of Rill. In this life of bounty hunting, it was dog eat dog. The man didn't speak as he watched as the strange woman walked out the entranceway.

Jim Morrison's ghost was sitting on the garage roof, which over locked the Century house. It stood on an empty lot, which a historical house once stood. He could feel a cloak of sorrow felling as the sun began to set. He heard the whisper of the wounded children. He knew the danger wasn't over. It was coming again. The voices in the day-to-day world were feeling of the souls of the sleepers.

The setting sun was turning the skies a rosy red. He watches as the cars began to take shape of a long metal tube. The night with its semi-warmth was chancing into a cold and dark world.

As the sky dimmed, Jim could see a distance dark cloud rolling into the area near the edge of town. He lay on his back and noticed the stars. He heard nothing in the way of the whispers.

Then, Jimi Hendrix's ghost merged out of the garage. Glancing around and above the garage, the second spirit discovered the first. He wondered if Jim had contacted Rio through the use of the spirit contact. Jim had reached a void engulfing Rio's door way.

Jimi began to float in his ghostly powers to where Jim lay. Jim noticed one lone star in the skies. A concern look was in Morrison's eyes. The black guitar player asked quietly, "What is going with that flesh child of yours?"

Jim had his eyes closed for a second. He quickly opened them, as the stars appeared to be saddened as they shown the skies. He said, "Things are gong from bad to awful."

"What do you mean?" Jimi questioned his ghostly brother.

"I wondered about beautiful Voodoo child. She hasn't been seen in her dreamtime.

We haven't visited her," Jim said. Then, he sat up. The leaves and the bits of bark didn't even stir. Jim wanted to know what happened to Rio. He knew that he and Jimi were bonded to that area where the house stood for a number of years. It seemed when the house was knocked down that was when the spirit world, spilt, dragging the two rock stars into the living world.

Jimi was just as sensitive as Jim. He felt ripples of his unearthly power not reaching Rio. There was a power who wrapping itself tightly around Rio. All things dark and frightening were halting anything pure any further going in.

"Code blue. . .code blue!" a voice announced calmly over the PA system at the hospital.

Terri was in the room trying to keep order in his life saving skills. He saw the heart and breathing monitor. They were both lines of unbroken lines of green. He held the tubing in place from the ventilator. He knew if there was a slim chance for the life saving to work he must work harder as he aided the machinery. Then, there was a loud gasp. The breath of life came back to life.

Rio had stopped breathing when the nurse was checking on Rio's vitals. She noticed that Rio was nearly gasping for breath. She was off the ventilator for a while. It seemed like she was improving. Rio was given a deadly blow from he ever-growing virus. It didn't leave her system. It decided to control her lungs. This bug had capabilities of a logical mind.

Taking a few deep breathes, Rio groaned a little. Terri told the other medical staff that came into help; Rio needed to be placed back on the vent until she was strong enough again.

Dusty was still the hospital during his recovery. He had lost a great quaintly of blood. He lay in his bed as he felt the strong bond between he and Rio begin to snap. He opened his eyes, trying to keep his focus on the bond. He gently probed in his subconscious, hoping to snap into a deeper level.

There were no ripples or touches from her. It was a usually greeting between the lovers. Dusty noticed a barrier when he crossed the special area, the two shared. His or her lonely scared space from the waking world in which no one else knew.

Blinking, Dusty had felt the door close behind him. He didn't want to disturb Rio. In believing Rio was cleansing her soul by her deepest sleep, the bon was broken between the two.

The night sky grew starless; the moon was blackened out form sight. There were grumbles of darkness sitting in the edge. Mara was wondering why she couldn't see Belldandy and the others for the past two weeks. She had to focus on her powers on spying on the Goddesses by using her physic barrier. She was shut out on any of her probes, which she sent out.

She had to see if Belldandy was weak. When the gentle Goddess was in that state, she was easy prey. She went firm her dark hiding hole near the high school. Mara wasn't under the knowledge of her spying was going about to change.

Belldandy and Keiichi were relaxing in Keiichi's bedroom. She sat at Keiichi's bedside on her little chair while he lay in bed, covered up with a quilt. They listened to an old time radio show. Belldandy was knitting a blanket. Keiichi had to take his medicine by he use of a breathing mask.

After Keiichi's treatment, he would take a nap. The medicine had a groggy-making effect on Keiichi. Belldandy would stay at Keiichi's bedside until was it time for her sleep. She kept the door opened in Keiichi needed something during the night. He would call for her.

Keiichi was resting as he took a treatment. The oxygen machine hummed softly. He chuckled softly at funny parts of the radio show. Belldandy smiled at the results of the medicine Keiichi was taking.

Belldandy placed her knitting down on her lap. She was waiting for a funny part of the show as she knitted. She brought a series of tapes from the local library. She and others needed a good laugh. When Belldandy was at the library to do some research for her classes, she found a series of old time radio shows. She picked up a couple of the cases to try them out. It seemed a welcomed relief.

In Belldandy bedroom, the full-length mirror glowed with a dark red light. In the light a dark image came into view. It broke through the mirror, taking shape as it formed tentacles of dark power, spilling out of the mirror. It was in search of pure faith.

Belldandy instantly knew a new disturbing evil was coming. She placed her knitting on the edge of Keiichi's bed. He opened his eyes just a little when he heard a gentle click of her knitting needles. He murmured, "Where are you going Bell?"

"I am getting a skein of yarn. Don't worry, I'll be back!" Belldandy said with a small smile. She stood up slowly.

"O.K." Keiichi yawned.

Belldandy walked to the door. She watched as Keiichi fell back into a light sleep. He looked like a little boy when he slept.

She headed for the hallway as she tired to remain calm. She heard Skuld playing a video game in her room. Then, on hearing a cracking noise coming from her own room, the gentle Goddess believed there was a presence invading her space.

Belldandy wasn't very mistaken when she peeked in to the room. There stood Mara, quietly waiting for the gentle Goddess to enter. Belldandy said, letting her jaw drop, "Mara, what are you doing here?"

Mara, her green eyes all aglow, hissed, "I've been hoping to get to see you again, Bell!"

"Why?" Belldandy asked. She felt herself go numb.

"To take what I came for!" an evil grin appeared on Mara's face.

"No, you can't have me!" Belldandy gasped as she realized what Mara was after.

"Why can't I . . ." Mara began to say. It seemed too easy for Mara's plans to work that well.

Then, a robotic hand broke through the mirror. An unearthly voice hummed, "Remain still. . ."

"What?" Mara and Belldandy said in unison. They didn't know that Ruby the bounty hunter had set traps in different formats all over Salem in the efforts of catching Rio. Ruby had the information that Rio was in league with a group of terrorists. Rio had no memory, which befall on the thirteenth year. It seemed like her life was in that year was a black hole.

Mara's gut instincts told her not to move. The robot arm tried to reach for Mara. She instantly disappeared after the mysterious arm had broken through the mirror. Belldandy was now horror struck. What was going on?

Then, Mara reappeared in the hall. She felt like a rat trapped in a corner after seeing the robot. The robot glanced around the room under the cover of the mirror's reflection as its sensors were opening to full.

Mara had her own objections to be hunted down. Now they seem to be tossed into the fire by an unseen force. The demon wondered if Skuld had made a robot that way slight years superior to the little robot, Bempei. Mara or even Belldandy who was now frozen to the spot had any idea of what was going to happen next.

"Belldandy!" Keiichi's voice called out. He although was weak heard the voices coming from Bell's room. Belldandy's sharp ears picked up his voice.

"Nothing!" Mara lied.

"Bell?" Keiichi asked as he wondered who was with her. "Is that you? Is someone with you!"

"Yes," Belldandy called out. Then, she saw the robot as it emerging. It was a work of thin bands of crystal steel for the body and a square head. Triangles were the eyes and mouthpiece for the face. Eyes rapidly moved in a clean liquid sweep. Then, one of the triangles changed colour from a dull red to a bright scarlet. It had found Mara hiding in Skuld's bedroom.

The robot flew in the room, which caused a wind to knock things down or off the walls. In a heartbeat it whizzed past Belldandy, knocking her down. She lay on the floor as she saw it go out the door. She tired to gather up her wit in order to save the ones she loved.

Mara was crouching behind the door to Skuld's room. Skuld was too involved with her game to know about what was going to happen. She was winning and then out of the blue a creature from an opposing team dropped a rock to squish her creature in the game. She noticed it as the rock fell. There was nothing she could do as she said, "Oh, rats!"

She jerked her hands a little when she sat the words 'game over' flashing in red lettering on the screen. She drew in a lung full of air and sighed, "I better get started on my homework!"

She glanced up at the book bag. She didn't need her two older sisters nagging her at not doing her work. Noticing a figure in the shadows slipping in and out of the other side of her bed, Skuld became puzzled. It seemed to be peeking over the edge of the bed. What or who was standing or sitting on the other side of her room.

Mara found her voice in the minutes of hiding out. She had to tell Skuld about the robots. She was stepping over the line, which separated Goddesses and Demons for thousands of years. She wouldn't normally tell Skuld anything. This was going to be exception. She hissed a little nervously, "Skuld!"

She heard the hiss. She became instantly frozen with fear and anger. She gasped loudly, "What?"

"Don't move. I have a few words to tell you!" Mara whimpered loudly.

Skuld caution turned to see Mara crouched behind the door. She scrambled into her feet. "You!" Skuld gasped as she glanced at now terrified Mara. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll tell you later. I have a slight problem!" Mara whimpered for a second time.

"What?" Skuld questioned the demon for a second time.

Then, the robot broke through the wall opposite the two females. Both Skuld and Mara  
screamed out of surprised as they saw the robot hovering by the hole in the wall. Skuld felt her heart stop while Mara was emotions rushing into a panic.

Belldandy bolted into the room. She saw the robot racing towards Mara and Skuld. There was not time to think. Belldandy raised her hands in a defensive mode as she chanted, "Spirits of the Almighty! Please give me that power of lighting!"

A streak of lighting flash appeared in front of Belldandy. On grabbing it, Belldandy let her senses go. She had to find the robot before Skuld or Mara got hurt. "Come on, you metallic monster," Belldandy uttered loudly in a fierce time that she rarely used.

"Seek and punish the criminal, the one who broke the time barrier," the robot chipped out in aloud tone.

"What?" Mara and Skuld stared buy eye and squeaked in a shriek.

"I don't where you are from?" Belldandy said as she held the lighting up close to her face. "But, I'll send you packing!"

The robot left up its right arm, taking careful aim at Mara. Then, it sent a series of

Blast of gold thin threads at Mara. Belldandy and Skuld heart a metallic zing they snapped into Mara's skin. Mara felt sharp pains in her arms. Sparks of fear were instantly driven in Mara. Mara was thrown back. Slamming against the wall, Mara screamed. She felt the fear rising in her body, in her soul. Was it too late to save Mara? Belldandy pointed the lighting bolt at the robot. It didn't know what hit it. Then, robot released Mara from its grasp.

Mara experienced incredible fear, not like anything she had before. Mara thought the walls were closing around her. She saw Skuld kneeling on the other side of her. Then, Skuld was quickly released with a monster, ten times west then she was. Mara's heart was breathing like a jackhammer.

The robot was destroying itself on a reckless course. A flash of blinding light flooded the room. Skuld, Mara and Belldandy closed their eyes. They heard a blind blast of sound and the robot was gone.

Both Urd and keiichi heard the blast. Urd ran up the stairs to the bedrooms. She was grading papers in the living room when the blast happened. She was now darting in every room in order to found her sisters and Keiichi.

Belldandy was now kneeling next to a terrified Mara. When Mara saw Urd entering the room, she went otno a panic attack. She screamed, "WHAT'S THAT. . .DON'T COME ANY CLSOER. I BEG OF YOU!"

Urd was beside herself. Her greatest, the one that tool the half-breed and turned her into a full-blooded demon was now rescued down to a helpless child. "What happened to her?" Urd's voice was gentle and low as she spoke.

"I'm not sure. Although a robot did smash through a sort of time barrier makes me wonder. It came after Mara for some strange reason!" Belldandy said, trying to gather her wits about her.

"MAMA!" Mara screamed. She instantly covered her face with her hands.

"Where is Skuld?" Urd asked as she noticed her little sister wasn't in the room.

"I'm here!" Skuld spoke up after heard her name being called out. Then, she saw Mara lying in the floor. The demon began to cry and thrash like a little child. She said, "You guys better get a doctor or a cop. Mara has gone off her rocker!"

"Belldandy!" Keiichi called out.

"Yes," Belldandy answered back.

"What happened?"

"I'm not positive, but Mara's hurt!"

Urd felt disturbance ripping in Mara's soul. She knew the feeling wasn't in Mara's nature. Urd wanted to throw Mara out, for all the little things that the demon had done. On the other hand, Belldandy was the only thing standing in Urd's way. Belldandy would throw a fit if Urd tossed Mara out. Her greatest foe needed help. Urd and Belldandy were going to start by seeing that soul knives could have been thrown by Mara to stop Keiichi's strength from returning.

Alex was sitting on a chair in the study at his house. He watched the fire cracking with delight. The rest of the room was darkened. On the other hand, he was slipping to a half state of thought. He worked on the bounty hunter case, alone. Nick and the other tried to help him. He shrugged them off. He knew Rio since she was a child. There relationship was that of a brother and sister. There wasn't a time until now that Alex didn't hear from Rio. He tried not letting his worry eat his soul. He raised a hand up to his chin. Wrapping his fingers up, along his cheek, Alex half heard Armond saying, "You are thinking of her!"

"Yea!" Alex sighed painfully.

"She is human, a weak creature!"

Alex felt the sharp point of Armond's mind verbal disliking of Rio. He was a little like Lacriox. He thought Rio was a giggling child, never all that willing to grow up. Alex broke away from his gaze as a granted aid of a distance sorrow. "I wanted to know if you hate Rio?" Alex asked Armond. Their eyes never met.

Armond hovered closely towards Alex's chair. He purred in his cold comforting tone of vice, "I don't hate her!" He walked around the chair. His heels padded across the thick rug. He faced Alex with pity and malice at the same time. "She is just a bother at times!"

"Yea right!" Then, Alex snapped a glare at his father. "You have a hard time understanding her, because she doesn't act rich, despite the factor she is!"

A slight biter in Armond's being made him back off. He glided towards Alex's sight. He sighed in a loud whisper, "Sorry!"

Alex shifted his glare at his father as she remained still. It was growing light. Alex needed a rest. Quickly Alex stood up from his chair. He and his father heard a low murmuring whistle. Alex thought it was a morning dove looking for its mate on the outside world. He felt a chill, an unusually expression for a vampire. Then, there was a hissing pop, which fizzled in the fireplace. Alex was now taking the flash of light as an omen.

In Galaxia's throne room, there was a gathering of her minons. Whispers of an unknown fear and temper flooded the area. Galaxia was taking up the path leading up to her throne. She turned to gaze at the small, but powerful army. She sat down in slowly easy. The room suddenly grew quiet. Then, Zoysite took two steps forward. Bowing, she said in a humble tone, "There are troubles in the gates where they told doorway to both worlds."

"Yes! Understanding it is a job, can it be fixed?" Galaxia asked Zoysite.

"I'm. . .we're not sure!" Zoysite said.

"It takes time," Tomeo said in a fairly equal tone to Zoysite's. He didn't present himself by breaking out of the ranks. He saw Galaxia with a puzzled look. She saw slightly sure what Doctor Temoe was saying. Then, he babbled on a theory of time in flux.

Then, Rebus asked, "What if we go and investigate what is really behind the disturb area."

The most evil queen of the unknown universe began to mull over idea in the head. She didn't any of her better guards or soldiers out on a wild goose chase. She had to use a lesser of a creature. She glanced straight at Zoysite. She had to tease or annoy this lower guard just to keep things fresh. "Zoysite, please stay here! She intoned her voice with a dignified air.

"Yes, my lady!" Zoysite replied quietly.

"You and.. ." Galaxia smiled as she handed out the orders to Zoysite. Then, she would have to give Zoysite a partner in this little quest. Who would this Golden Senshi pick every of her dark soldier there was a weakness and a strength. Taking a minute to come up with a second or back up, Galaxia glanced over her wards. She said as her eyes rested once again on Zoysite, "I have two things to tell you, Zoysite!"

"Yes," she said, acting as a willing servant.

"I want you to go to the earth and find out what's going on with those blasted Sailors!"

"I understand. Since we hadn't been to earth for the gathering of the precious Star-seeds in quite some time!"

Galaxia nodded quickly as she said, "If you need the help. I'm sure that Jadeite is willing to help!"

The paring of the two was like a set of invisible shackles going around the necks of Zoysite and Jadeite. Zoysite was shocked into disbelief, while Jadeite was grinding his teeth in disgust. She was joking in her choosing. Their dark leader said, "Time is beating away. Be quick about getting those sailors and those Star-seeds."

Bowing, they both huffed, "Yes, ma'am!"

Then, they disappeared.

Zoysite and Jedite were dressed in normal street clothes. Jadeite was posted at a local grade school while Zoysite was posted at the high school. It seemed to Galaxia chose to sneer the one of the purest star-seed. It was on anyone judgment on which star-seed was the purest. Zoysite was going to toy with a holder of a star-seed.

She had her black star-crystal in her jacket pocket. Far in the distance it began to cloud up. A cold storm was unfolding.

Jedite was going to leave up to chance. It meant looking at the hundreds of weak or semi-powerful unearthly gems to get the right one. Jedite didn't know he was being watched. A man in a trench coat was resting in a car. He was checking around for any possible bounties. The man had a pack of smokes, Red Camels in his left hand, which rested on the striating wheel.

The man didn't lean back in the seat. He instead was toughly hunched over the wheel. The right hand was now resting on the gearshift. He was just a normal cowboy with a hunger for a quick fix of easy cash.

Then, if by bad luck, Jedite had spotted a little girl. Who had a pure star-seed? Jedite started to follow the girl. She didn't know that she was a carrier or to be the next victim. Jedite was calm and unaware of the pending net, which poised over him. He reached in his jacket pocket for a pair of gloves. He didn't want to get his hands dirty.

The man's nerves were now drawn up tight. He watched with an eagle eye glance. He saw Jedite going for his pocket with slow and quiet movements. He carefully opened the car door. He silently moved it of the car. Then, slowly closing the door, the man started to walk down the street.

Jedite was thinking to himself with intensive hunger for pure power. He prayed to the dark forces for an easy catch. He slightly waved his hands. His powers made the little girl power trip. She fell on to the snowy sidewalk. She whimpered a little as she felt the pavement. Jedite came up to the girl. Putting on an instant and fake pity, which he used on humans as a tool in draining humans of their power.

He reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. He asked as he watched the girl sit up, "Are you O.K.?"

"Yea. I'll be fine!" the girl sighed loudly when she looked up at him.

Then, he was about to toy with her. He asked if she needed any help in standing. The girl was going to say something as Jadeite reached in his pocket for the dark crystal. He held it just few inches in his palm of his hand. The girl didn't see the crystal in Jadeite's hand. Grasping the crystal, he took his hand out of the pocket his hand over the girl's head.

He let the girl sit for a couple of minutes. She didn't see or know that Jedite was holding the dark crystal. Then, he said in a cold loud murmur, "You will give up you star seed to the glory of Galaxia."

Before the girl could speak. The strange man had his laser gun pointed at Jadeite's head. He barked out loud, "Step a way from the girl!"

"Uh?" Jedite gasped. He stopped what he was about to do in mid-stride and was afraid to even turn to look. He had a knife sensation prinking digging in his back.

"Stand up slowly. I want to see your hands!" the man ordered.

"Yes," Jedite said as he raised his hands. He could sense a gun in the man's hand.

The girl caught a glimpse of the man. She saw the gun that he was carrying. She wanted to scream even more. Jedite did what the man had asked him to do. They started to walk down the street after the man had given him a second order. The girl had asked if she needed to come. The man ordered her to go straight home.

The girl turned and ran down the sidewalk. She was too frightened to even talk.

The man hid his gun in his jacket, while he walked a few steps behind Jedite. They stepped in front of the man's car. Jadeite hoped fir a break in the man's attention and run. He heard the man unlocking his car door. He thought the man's car being electrically locked. The man had to opened the car door with a special key.

The man had opened the car door, slowly. Jadeite waited for the man. The man moved ever so slowly enough to make the car door stop. Then, Jedite saw his window of opportunity. The car door slammed backwards when Jedite moved it with his mind. The man was hit with the car door and fell onto the ground in a flash.

Jadeite took his life into his own hands as he ran in a great burst of speed. He ran to the end of the street. He rounded the corner sharpie. He nearly crashed into Zoysite.

Zoysite was at a loss when she went out on her search for Star-seeds. She was going to look for Jadeite and call the search off. Jadeite caught a glance of Zoysite. He shouted to make his companion stop, "COMING THROUGH!"

Zoysite jumped into the air to void slamming into Jadeite. She had to try to make any sense of what was going with him.

Zoysite said to herself, "I going to stop him for sure!"

Then, she whipped around to see the man rushing towards her. She shouted as he pointed his gun, "STOP NOW!"

Zoysite stood like a deer caught in a car's headlights. She felt a bone snapping session digging into her left shoulder. She sucked in her breaths quickly. Then, in the same instant, Zoysite felt the air being shoved out her body.

She fell like a bag of apples falling from a cart. Jadeite turned to the man. He was upset at the two losses. Jadeite turned to glare at the man. He knew that the power surrounding him was easily when it escape from a body. This was different it came from his companion. "YOU MONSTER!" he screamed.

Then, the sounds of sirens hit their ears. The man screamed in his own anger, "I'M OUT OF HERE!"

"Sorry," he said softly. He had a glimmer of human kindness, a feeling that he never shared. "I think you need to go and see a doctor."

His heart swam in the feeling as he became caught up the séance. He watched a couple of cops swarmed the two as bees to flowers.

Kogato had ordered Hotsuma and Tsugaru to see how Sasami and Ayeka were doing. The two teleported to the area of Sasami's school was. Tenchi or Miss Gina would pick Sasami up form School. They weren't taking any changes. Sasami was saying her goodbyes to there friends as she waited inside of the school building for Tenchi. Hotsuma appeared inside, standing near a door. His guise of a teacher made him less conspicuous as the day unfolded for Sasami.

Tsugaru saw his change to steal the younger of the Jurian princesses for Yugi. He changed himself into a young skate boarder as he entered the school's parking lot. He played around with his board, waiting for the right time.

Sasami was sitting on a chair near the room reading a book. She peeked form time-to-time see if Tenchi was coming.

Hotsuma was dressed in a dark suit. He had a clipboard in his hand. He pretended to be busy. The stage seemed to be set.

Little did they know there was second trap was lying ahead? There were spider bombs buried in the cold earth.

Tenchi was walking up the sidewalk, which leads up to the school. He didn't know about Sasami's life being in danger. He had to stop over at the hospital after dropping Sasami's homework at the house. He wanted Ayeka to see Sasami. It was a good dose of medicine to see the two sisters meeting each other after a long time apart.

She was getting stronger by the day. She was going home, shortly. Tenchi rounded the corner leading up to the school building. He tried to keep a positive feeling. With Ayeka going home and no attacks from either Kogato or Yugi, Tenchi had a sense of peace with himself. Sasami went back to school after a week of recovery. She was a tough little girl.

Tenchi saw Sasami sitting near the door. Sasami glanced up from her reading. She placed her bookmarker in her book. Sasami raised her hand in a five-minute pose. Tenchi saw her gesture to give her five minutes. She quickly placed her book in her backpack as she pulled up the pack.

Hotsuma took a clipboard and waved in front of him. It instantly broke into a thousand pieces. The wind caught the up. The fragments dissolved in to the air. He began to float a little the floor. Hotsuma was trying not to make a sound. Then, he used a telepathic thought to ask Tsugaru to come over and snag Sasami. He would cover any chances of escape of the younger Jurian princess.

Tenchi saw Hotsuma drawing closer to Sasami. At first Tenchi that Hotsuma was a teacher walking up to Sasami. Then, he saw it was Hotsuma under a cloak of a teacher. He was growing sharper with the teachings from his grandfather. Tenchi had his sword always hanging from his belt. He went by instinct for it. As his fingers went for the handle, he heard a calming voice telling him to stand still.

When Tenchi heard the voice, his blood froze. He let his inner feelings reach out to see if this was a person from his past. He shifted gaze at young man who stood off to the side, dressed in gray jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. He gasped, "Who are you?"

"My name should be the least of you problems!" the young man smirked darkly.

"What if I turned around to see who you really are?" Tenchi said calmly.

"Then, Sasami will leave without you!"

Then, Tenchi shifted his glance back to Sasami. She was about to pick up her book bag. She saw hand hovering over her left shoulder from the corner of her eye. She glanced up to see Hotsuma standing over her. She wanted to scream. Her heart was beating in her chest like a jackhammer. She was now terrified out of her wits.

Tsugaru came with in inches from Tenchi. Tenchi saw the youngest of Yugi's drones. He stuck his fingertip to his lips.

His evil expression was a prick diving into Tenchi's soul. Tenchi gasped, a little angry, "Is Yugi behind this is?"

Tenchi's heart was a little fast in its pace. He asked for a second time, "Did she put you up to this?"

"Yes and no!" Tsugaru smirked. He placed his other hand up this chest with his palm facing towards Tenchi. "The yes part is Sasami is coming to see Yugi for a long time. The no part is another favor!"

Feeling his angry slightly boiling even more, Tenchi's questions was going be answered.

His mind flicker was in a thought with one's idea as its own flame. His sword was the key to power source of the planet of Juri. He growled softly, "You will not have my sword or Sasami!"

"Oh," Tsugaru huffed in playful annoyance. He placed the tip of his glove in his mouth. Biting down on the tip, Tsugaru jerked his hand slowly. His glove was being pulled off. He murmured loudly, "You are a sharp one!"

Then, something happened that which Tsugaru or the others didn't see coming Tsugaru was thought he was a leaf caught in the wind. He was terrified beyond words as he sailed through the air. His heart was not trying nearly tearing its out of his skin. He screamed as now he hung in mid-air. There was no end to the pain. He cried out, "What's going on?"

Hotsuma bolted to the door. Slamming it open, he ran out of the building. He shouted, "TSUGURA!"

Tenchi heard Hotsuma's scream. He whipped around in a heartbeat to see an angered Hotsuma. He felt at a loss in not helping Tsugaru. Hotsuma grabbed Tenchi by the shoulders. He screamed in Tenchi's face, "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"I'm not sure," Tenchi said in calm voice as his eyes narrowed. He felt like taking charge of the situation. "This is nothing of my doing!"

"HELP. . .GET ME DOWN!" Tsugaru pleaded in a scream.

The tentacle didn't want to let go. Hotsuma raised a hand to give the monster a shock. Tenchi stopped him. He remembered what happened to Rio. He barked out at Hotsuma, "No, don't. I have an idea that thing wouldn't let go if you blast it!"

"Then, you do think I should do?" Hotsuma yipped, as his eyes grew wide with fear.

"My sword!" Tenchi commanded sharply. "I'm using my sword!"

Tsugaru was dealt with a blow, neither Hotsuma or Tenchi could foresee. A small tip grew inside of the tentacle. The tip had to be poised just in the right way or the tentacle couldn't set out to hurt Tsugaru the right way. Instead it would just strangle him. He saw a small tentacle growing inside a clear pouch near the top. It quickly stood out in a shinny silver gleam. Then, it quickly attached itself onto Tsugaru's neck. He felt a ripping into his neck. He wanted to scream as the tip was sucking its way into his neck and sucking out the boy's air from his lungs.

In a minute, Tsugaru was drained of his powers. He was released as if he was soda can, drained of its fluids. He dropped onto the pavement with a thud.

Hotsuma, enraged, barked out, "No!"

Tenchi grabbed Hotsuma and began to pull him away. Hotsuma started to throw his fists in protest. He wanted to save if all possible, Tsugaru. He wanted to see this mission through. Fate had other plans for them.

Then, the tentacle turned around to blindly search for Tenchi and Hotsuma. It appeared to setting up for another attack. Tenchi said quietly and calmly, "Don't move."

"Why?" Hotsuma hissed as he eyes narrowed.

"I have a feeling that it's going for another strike!"

"Are you sure?" Hotsuma grasped. He never knew things like this could happen to him.

The tentacle decided to up and leave. It slid back into the hole where it came. Tenchi knew seconds counted. He had to save Tsugaru. He came up with a plan. He had seen in the past were Hotsuma teleported. He was going to have use Hotsuma's teleportation to where Tsugaru was at to get him out of harm's way. The young man was in dire need of medical attention.

At this point, Hotsuma had no choice. Then, he asked, and "What are you going to do?"

Tenchi glared at him squarely in the eye. He commanded, "I'll cover for you. Just save Tsugaru!"

He drew out the sword hilt from his jacket pocket. He needed to let Hotsuma that he was going to protect the wounded Tsugaru.

Hotsuma instantly teleported where to his fallen comrade was at. Tsugaru lie on the ground, face up. He gasped for breath. Knelling down, Hotsuma picked up his fallen cohort. He quickly stood up as Tenchi drew his sword. He teleported in a heartbeat to the hallway where Sasami was still sitting at. Sasami saw the two as Hotsuma waited for Tenchi. He murmured, "Yugi or Kagato is not going to like this!"

Tenchi ran back to the school. He withdrew his sword in a flash. Bursting in on as he flung open the main doors, he darted over to where three were standing. Tsugaru was still gasping for his breath. He turned to face Sasami, "Sasami . . .go to the principal's office and call for an ambulance. He needs to go to the hospital."

"Yea!" Sasami nodded.

At Salem Community hospital, Serena, Lita and Seiya saw two wounded creatures as the three were going to visit Rio. They went through the e/r hallway as they saw a sleeping form on a gurney. The gurney was in a five-minute wait as it stood in the hallway. Serena and Lita stared at the form. Serena gasped so softly that Lita and Seiya believed that she breathing hard. It was Zoysite who lay unconscious. Serena said as she tore herself away from the gurney, "Let go and see Rio!"

Serena felt her heart turned to ice in that period. They stared to walk away Serena wondered what was it. He saw the same frightened stare on Lita's face. He asked, "You guys looked like seen a ghost!"

"Oh, nothing!" Lita said, trying to sound like nothing was bugging her.

Serena was following Lita's lead and said with a goofy giggle, "Let's go and see Rio!"

"O.K." Seiya agreed before raising his hands to the back of his head to give it a quick scratch.

They walked to the elevator. Seiya punched the button to the third floor. Serena hoped seeing Zoysite was just her mind playing tricks. She began to talk about seeing Rio to get mind refocused on her friend. Then, they heard a male voice asking them to move over to one side. They saw another gurney being quickly whisked past them. They thought of nothing another seriously ill patient. They saw the lift doors open. They stepped into the lift. The doors closed quietly. They waited until the reached the third floor. Seiya told Lita and Serena to put on happy faces. They knew Rio was sick, but they were in for a shock as they entered her room.

Rio was back on the ventilator. She wasn't responding to the life support machines. It was like she crawled back into her shell. Seiya turned back to walk of the room. He had to talk to Terri. He told the girls he was going to see the charge nurse to find out what was really wrong with Rio.

Serena and Lita were both staring for the longest time. Then, Serena said holding in her grief, "Is she getting better?"

"By the looks of things. . .she got worst!" Lita whispered loudly.

It seemed like she was improving. Just a little while in the present sense, fate was choosing a cold and still path. "Rio. . .I know tell you we have been hoping for you to get better. Even Reenie and Chibi-chibi drew a couple of pictures for you."

Seiya came back from talking with the charge nurse. He saw Lita standing in the room, staring at Rio. She was numb to the pout of not talking. Seiya glanced at her and said softly, "Hey, Lita!"

There was no answer from Lita.

Seiya reached out to touch Lita on the shoulder. Lita turned to see Seiya. His eyes were sympathy to what Lita was feeling. Lita buried her head against Seiya's chest. She gasped, trying to hold back the tears. She murmured, "I'm sorry!"

"Hey. It's O.K." Seiya whispered as wrapped his harms around Lita. "I think she would understand."

"Yea?" Lita asked.

"Here. . .I'm just going to pin these up for now!" Serena said. She went over to a small corkboard hanging from a wall. There were a few cards hanging from the board. She saw a few thumbtacks on one corner of the board. Pulling one off, Serena tried to fight back the tears. She tacked the picture that Chibi-chibi drew on the board. It was her view of a rainbow. Serena pinned another thumbtack to keep in place. "Isn't that a nice picture!" Serena asked out loud.

There was still response.

Serena had bit her lower lip as she placed Reenie's picture on the board.

"We're here!" said a voice softly.

Serena turned her head to see Taiki, Yaten and Chibi-chibi standing in the doorway. Taiki was holding Chibi-chibi's hand in his long fingered hand. He walked with the tiny pink haired girl in hand up to Rio's bed. Seiya was curious of the reason why Taiki and Yaten brought over Chibi-chibi with them. Taiki said with a quiet look on his face, "We need to talk."

"About what?" Seiya asked. He heard Chibi-chibi telling everyone about the picture she drew hanging on the wall.

"Taking care of Rio. If and when she wakes. Jakten wants a nurse to take care of Rio when she does go home!" Taiki said.

"How . . ." Serena asked. She knew that the Sailor Senshi didn't have the money to get a nurse. "We don't have the money first off!"

"It's taken care of. Both of her uncles have insurance to cover the expense," Taiki said with hope.

"It just the time we have to spend with her. . .we just have be careful when the nurse is there. We can't expose out other side to the nurse, that's all!" Yaten said.

"I'm sure we can take shifts in the care. I want to be there if Rio wakes up!" Seiya said with optimism.

Chibi-chibi was a little scared as she turned to see Rio, lying in bed. Taiki noticed Chibi-chibi's mood. She was frozen to the spot. It was like Rio was a doll or ghost. Then, slowly Chibi-chibi tugged at Take's arm. He wondered if she was scared or not. Finally, Chibi-chibi said in her tiny voice, "Rio sleepy?"

"Yea, " Taiki smiled sadly. Then, Taiki saw Chibi-chibi holding up her arms towards him. He asked if she wanted to be picked up. She nodded as Taiki bent to picked her up.

"Some day . . .she will wake up," Serena said as she watched Rio sleep.

Taiki walked over to where Rio was laying in bed. Chibi-chibi nestled her head against Taiki's chest.

Then, placing a finger up her mouth, she said, "Night-night Rio!"

"Yea!" Yaten said as she turned to see Rio, silent and dreaming.

Hotsuma was sitting in a waiting room. He was trying to think of a good excuse to come up with. He knew that Tsugura was important as he was. He, Tsugura and Matori were a team of sorts. He could work by himself like in the past. Kagato wasn't taking any excuses. Yugi was a little more lenition. There were always mistakes. There were always mistakes.

Hotsuma was nearly lost in his thoughts. When Royko who was going home saw him sitting in the waiting room as she walked down the hall, did not knew who was Hotsuma at first. He was still dressed in his schoolteacher's suit. Ryoko's heart turned to ice. It was a flash, which jolted, Ryoko's senses. She started to glance around to find the person behind this strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She entered the room, not letting on that she knew Hotsuma saw her. Hotsuma fleet Ryoko's present. He sat up in the chair he was slouching for hours. Ryoko was just any other hospital staff member. Ryoko had her hair pulled back which threw off Hotsuma as he glanced at her. Then, he saw her nametag. His senses were drawn tightly. He didn't act surprised. She flopped out on a chair near her old mimesis.

Ryoko was going to string a long until Hotsuma broke. He asked as he glanced over in her way, "Long day?"

"Yea!" Ryoko huffed. It was a long while as she was quietly tuning up for a mental attack. "If is one thing I know is that people are like books."

"People are like books?" Hotsuma asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"They have a story. Some are easy to read. Others are so difficult that I have trouble just figuring them out!"

There was a knock on the door. Hotsuma looked up and said, "Yes."

The door opened and a nurse entered the room. She said, "Mister Hotsuma?"

He gave a nod. The nurse walked up to him. He asked with a concerned look on his face, "How is he?"

"Tsugura is stable and resting comfortably. He will be released tomorrow!"

"That's good!" Hotsuma said. He needed to talk to Ryoko for a minute to see what she was in the hospital for. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I want to talk to this young lady in the parking lot!"

"O.K. if you like to talk to the doctor. I can tell him that you will be it for a little bit!" the nurse said. Then, she turned to walk out the room.

Ryoko's mind was racing. What was Hotsuma thinking of. She had a twinge in her gut that either Yugi or Kagato behind Hotsuma's visit. Did they know that Ayeka was going home within a few days? It could be too easy of a target if Ayeka was going home without any protection.

"What's it that you want to talk about?" Ryoko asked.

"Here is fine or even outside," Hotsuma said. Then, he wondered what was making her open up like this.

Ryoko had to take a careful listen to Hotsuma. Why was Hotsuma here if not to get Ayeka? He stood up slowly. Then, merely waggled the tip of his first finger slowly, Hotsuma got his point across.

The door slowly closed. Ryoko was a little anxious. She thought, "What?"

"The reason why I'm here is not because of you," he said coldly as he faced her with a fire in his heart.

Ryoko had to be now intrigued. She asked with her nerves getting drawn up tightly, "Then, what?"

He coughed to clear his throat. Then, he said, "We were trying to get both Sasami and the sword of Juri, but a monkey wrench was thrown into the works!"

"Lair. You jerk!" Ryoko yipped. She leaned forward with her arms out stretched. Her guts were screaming that there was a lie in what Hotsuma was saying. "I'm going to stop you!"

"Don't be a fool!" Hotsuma barked coldly. He glared at her. "If you start anything. You'll have the Galaxy police in this room before you take another breath!"

"You are so smug that you are positive?" Ryoko asked.

"For certain. Listen, I have to see a sick friend!" he said as Hotsuma moved in quick strides across the room. He was now face to face with Ryoko. He had a stun touch ready in the palm if his left hand. He was going to use it if Ryoko got out of hand.

Then, Ryoko felt herself backing off. She was let going to let him pass without lifting a finger to stop him. There was cast to Hotsuma's eyes. It was his words of through. He said, "Tsugura was gassed by a creature. I have no idea where it came from. I'm grateful for one fact. It is that if wasn't for Tenchi, both Sasami and myself could have been next."

He turned his heels to not relieve the feelings of gratitude that he had for the crown prince of Juri.

"Tenchi?" Ryoko asked. She felt an unseen fist punching her in the chest. Then, gasping a little, Ryoko stared at Hotsuma, "What did he do?"

"He tried to protect of the three us! It was feeble in the best of attempts during the after math. He asked Sasami to call for an ambulance. Then, he gave first aid in what little he had to Tsugura."

"Is this the truth?"

"Without a doubt, yes!"

"Ryoko?" a voice asked.

Ryoko turned to see Tenchi and Sasami standing in the doorway. They had somber faces. Tenchi asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Let my pick up my coat and say goodbye to Rio!" Ryoko walked to the door.

"Tenchi!" Hotsuma murmured loudly. He knew how both Yugi and Kagato would feel. He had to tell the whole truth of the matter.

"Oh," Tenchi uttered as he was thrown off by Hotsuma's statement.

"It's doesn't mean we aren't going to catch Sasami or take the sword. We have to watch for a weak spot if by chance. . .and then."

"Are you letting us off, once?" Tenchi questioned Hotsuma.

"Yes," Hotsuma nodded.

"Then, just you be careful of yourself. There are forces that will given half a chance destroy you!" Tenchi warned.

Hotsuma knew where Tenchi was coming from at the minutes preceding the aftermath of failed kidnapping.

He agreed as he folded his arms, "I'll tell Yugi and Kagato about those creatures!"

Then, Ryoko walked out of the room with a confused feeling buzzing her mind.

The days had past with some difficult. Dusty had recovered slowly. He felt like not himself. Something was missing as he sat in bed looking at his picture of Rio. It was his heart aching. He did go over from time to time to visit Rio as she lay in her coma. He said with a smile, "Listen. I saw Peter Noone."

There was no response from Rio. Dusty was sitting in his wheel chair. He was dressed in a hospital gown and his tan robe. He reached over to touch the top of Rio's hand. He smiled as he said, "He just as hot as these new bands out today!"

"Dusty?" asked a voice.

He turned his head to see Ayeka and Gina entering the room. Then, he turned back to say his love, "I have to go. The good doctor is allowing me to visit with Rio each day!"

"She's a real sleeping beauty!" Ayeka said to Gina.

"In a way! I hope Dusty can wake her up!" Gina smiled as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Ladies?" Dusty questioned the two. He had to know the reason behind why Ayeka's surprise visit.

Ayeka teased in haughtily tone, "Dusty. I had warned you about your visits to your lady love?"

There was a sad smile on Dusty's lips. He wanted to say something which on his mind. He breathed as he reached out to take Rio's hand in his. Gina asked if Dusty needed help getting out of the room when he went back. He nodded as Ayeka wheeled herself in the far bed of the room. The window looked out onto the parking lot. It wasn't much to look at, yet it was a treat to see normal life.

"I'll see you later, Rio!" Dusty said. Then, he placed his arms on the armrests of the wheel chair. Gina wheeled him out of the room.

Ayeka heard a gasp. She hoped it was Rio waking up. Ayeka turned to see confirm her hunch. It was a person in the hall gasping. She wheeled herself slowly backwards. She watched herself as the wheel chair inched along. The wheel chair stood flushed now against the bed. She turned her head to get a better view of Rio.

Rio was still hooked up to the life support machines. She slept peacefully as she lay in the warm bed. Ayeka said as she fixed her gaze at Rio's eyes, "Long time, we haven't talked!"

Rio wasn't responding to Ayeka. She placed a hand on the bed railing. "I'm getting out soon. I can't wait to see Tenchi and the others!"

She told a story about the time, she and the others went to the beach. The ocean was beautiful. She wondered if Rio saw any oceans or beaches. A nurse was looking for Ayeka. It was time for Ayeka's medicine. The nurse noticed Ayeka talking to Rio. The nurse walked into the room. She asked if Ayeka was talking to Rio. Ayeka said as she sighed, "I was just telling Rio about my beach trip!"

"Oh, it's be nice this time of the year!" the nurse said as she grabbed the handles of the wheelchair, the nurse told Ayeka it was time for Rio to get some rest.

Ayeka thought as she glanced at Rio, "You do need rest. You are willing to lay down your very life for others!"

Then, she saw the bright hallway. "One who is so brave. Could you ready have fear?"

She thought for a second before leaving the room.

Stephanie was going through a box of personally things, which belonged to Rio. She was at the senshi's house. The sailors were busy with things. Lita popped her head in Rio's room where Rio's cousin was sitting in. She knew that Stephanie was Rio's room. There was a book, which Stephanie had opened. There was a smile on Stephanie's lips. She realized it was Rio's diary. For a little while Rio had kept a diary. Stephanie smiled at the memories that she thought were gone. Lita quietly left Stephanie alone with Rio's diary.

There was a knock on the doorjamb. Stephanie looked up from her reading. She felt a tear swelling up in her eye. She breathed, "It's open!"

The door opened up and Hotura and Reenie peeked inside the room. The two girl asked of they could come in. She said, "Yes."

The two girls were wondering why Stephanie had a box of Rio's stuff. Reenie asked as she pointed to a small clothe pouch, "What's that?"

"Oh," Stephanie said when she held up the pouch. ". ..This."

"Yes," Hotura nodded. The two girls now stood in front of Stephanie.

Stephanie reached over to the pouch with her hand. It was dark green velvet. It was about the size of palm of someone's hand. She held it in her one hand. "You know. I have gotten about this!" she sighed with a sad smile.

"It's pretty. What's inside if it had anything. You know!" Reenie asked, trying to be cheerful.

"Oh," Hotura quipped before giggling. "Stop being so nosy!"

"Reenie. . .Reminds me of Rio in her curiosity!" Stephanie uttered as she shook her head. Then, she sighed, "This is a trinket bag. Rio got it when she was seven. She had kept many things inside this!"

The bag was opened. Stephanie placed two fingers and thumb in the bag. She exclaimed in a little excitement, "Oh, it's smooth and flat."

Out came a gray stone. Rennie and Hotura started at the stone. How dull and plain it was. Stephanie turned it over. Stephanie turned it over to see a cross with a circle in the middle of the cross. It was golden in colour. Stephanie snorted out loud as her mind's remembered. Then, she said, "This stone has a story!"

"A story?" Reenie asked curiosity.

"This is a stone, Rio got when she was in Edinburgh," Stephanie said.

"Why the cross?" Hotura asked.

"She went out fairie hunting. There was a creek near where she was staying. She saw this stone on the shoreline. It was very plain at the time. Going to a guy that Our Uncle Anthony knew, Rio had the stone painted and glazed."

Hotura turned to see what else was in the box. There was a red covered book. Hotura's left hand reached over to the book and pulled it out. Holding, she asked, "Was this Rio?"

Stephanie and Reenie turned to see Hotura holding the book. Stephanie had to do a double take. She nearly started to cry. She gasped loudly, "I can't believe you found it!"

"What?" Hotura utterly loudly, nearly jumping out of her skin. Then, she held out the book. "This?"

Hotura turned over the cover very carefully as she opened the book. She noticed it was a photo album. Noticing a picture of a young girl, Hotura asked, "Was this Rio?"

"Let me see!" Stephanie said in a semi-excited tone. Hotura walked over to Rio's bed, where Stephanie was sitting at. She sat down next to Rio's cousin.

Handing the book over to Stephanie, Hotura asked, "How old is Rio in this picture?"

Stephanie stared at the picture. She remembered when the picture was taken. Rio was about fourteen, dressed in a sort of mod dress. A large white clip held her hair back. Stephanie said, "Rio was about fourteen. I remembered Alex taking this picture."

"Oh," Reenie said as she glanced at the picture.

Stephanie tuned the page. There were many different pictures. A couple was of Rio when she was in her middle teens. Stephanie said as she placed the book on her lap, "This is a picture of our Uncle Zigfield."

Hotura noticed a picture of another family member. She said, "Hey, isn't that Uncle Anthony?"

Then, she pointed to the next picture.

Reenie giggled when she saw a picture of Rio with a goof smile. She said, "Rio looks funny!"

"Stephanie turned the pages. They saw the pictures of a birthday party. Stephanie explained about the birthday pictures. It was from Rio's fourteenth birthday party. There were a couple of pictures of four mop-topped young lads. Reenie asked out of curiosity, "Who are those guys?"

"No. I don't believe it!" Stephanie gasped, as her eyes grew wide.

"What?" Hotura questioned Rio's cousin. The two little girls were shocked.

"There you are!" a male voice said.

The three glanced up at the same time at Jaime, Tinny and Rei. Rei said to Reenie and Hotura, "Time to wash up!"

Jamie watched as Stephanie had closed the book. He asked, "Hey, Steph, what's that you are looking'?"

Reenie and Hotura excused themselves from the room. They left the room with Rei, leaving Steve and Jamie with Stephanie. She said, "I'm going through some stuff!" Stephanie said. She tried to keep her personal feelings on hold.

"Yea, like what?" Tinny asked.

"This photo album," Stephanie said as she held up the book.

Reenie came rushing back to say a few words to Stephanie. She stuck her head the room as she said, "Hey, Stephanie. I want to see those pics of Rio, O.K.?"

"Which gives me a brill idea," Stephanie said. Her mind was turning over an instantly idea. She glanced at the other four.

Serena was going to visit Rio. She had to take a shift. Some of the young people each took a shift at the hospital for around a clock vigil. Rio hasn't awakened upon yet. She was still in the deep coma.

Serena went to Rio's room on the ICU ward. Rio was peaceful in her sleep. The machines were beeping in a quiet time with the whirling of the others. Serena went to the nurse's station. Serena hoped for any changes. Instead of a glimmer of good news, she was given some bad news.

Serena went to Rio's room. Gina was sitting next to Rio's bed. Rio's room was brought with the flood of new flowers. They took up most of the floor space. Serena out loudly as she forgot that Rio was still in coma, "Where did the flowers come from?"

"Aren't they beautiful?" Gina asked as she looked up the new comer.

"Yes," Serena nodded. She walked over to the flowers stood. She read one of the cards taped to a vase. It read, "Hey Kido! Time to wake up and smell the flowers!"

Serena wondered who wrote that card to Rio.

"Look, Rio. I have to go. I'll be seeing you the next time around!" Gina said. There was no response from Rio. Gina stood up to leave and walked began to walk of out the room. She stopped for a minute to smile at Serena. Then, she said, "Most of the flowers are from her family!"

Then, Gina walked out of the room.

Serena walked over to take Gina's seat. She turned to face Rio. Noting the slightness of change, Rio appeared to be doll like in her sleep. So eerie, so quiet. Rio's curly hair was carefully combed out around her pale face. The tubes and wires just mar her appearance. Serena swallowed her feelings and forced her voice in to her usually fake cheeriness. She said, "Hey, guess what?"

She reached over to touch Rio on the arm. She was careful in touching her friend's arm.

"We saw a movie about London in the Second World war."

Serena told explained things that happened during the day to Rio. She wanted to Rio see Rennie. Reenie was going to be a in a school play as the part of a sale woman in a flower shop. It was something to get her mind off of Rio's stay in the hospital if even for a short while. She practiced like crazy during the off school hours. Then, she and others were getting for Spring break.

"I have to buy a goodie for Reenie. All the girls at the house pooled our money to make a basket for Easter. It's coming! I wish you were there with us," Serena sighed as she felt a lump growing in her throat. It was a lump of melancholy.

Serena saw a paper back book on the nightstand. On picking it up, she read the spine. It was Sherlock Homes in plain black lettering. She opened it up to the area a large piece of paper was stuck in. She started to read the passage out loud to Rio.

It was going in nine in the mid-evening hours. Serena was till reading the Homes mystery. As Alex entered the room, Serena heard the gentle knock the door. She glanced up at the doorway and asked, "Who's there?"

"It's me!" Alex said as he came up to Rio's bed.

"Oh, hey!" Serena sniffing. She closed the book. "Alex, are you taking over?"

"Yep. Our sleep wild child hadn't changed?" he smiled sadly.

"No. . .no changes! I wondered what if she is dreaming?"

"I don't know!" Alex shook his head.

"Hey, Serena. You want a lift?" another male voice asked.

"Hi, Darien!" Alex said as turned to see the owner of the voice in standing the doorway.

"I hope did bore you, Rio!" Serena apologized in her goofy voice to Rio.

There wasn't even a twitch.

"She loves Mister Homes and Doctor Watson. She wanted to travel to that time period and live there for a little while," Alex reflecting what was a sparkle in Rio's personality.

"How did you know I was reading?" Serena asked as she stood up. She was agog with Alex's sharp hearing.

Alex lied as he shrugged, "I just got good ears!"

"Oh," Serena sighed. She walked past Alex. "Bye, Rio. I hope you wake up soon!"

"Hey, Serena . . .I didn't know you read to Rio!" Darien said as he moved a little so Serena could leave the room.

"I felt like it. Don't know why, but I thought Rio was there!" Serena said.

Serena, Alex and Darien exchanged their parting words before Serena and Darien walked down the hall.

Alex now stood at the foot of Rio's bed. He tried to make sense of the whole matter. He sat down on the same chair that Serena was sitting on. "Hello, Rio!" Alex said as he faced the sleeping figure.

Rio's IV monitor went off. Alex jerked a little as he began to find the call light button. He didn't like the noise of the monitor it frightened him. A nurse entered the room in a hurry. She walked over to the IV pole and pushed a button to make the beeping noise quiet down. She asked Alex if he could step out for a minute. He stood up to the leave the room. He waited outside until the nurse was done. Alex half heard his name being called as thorough in a dream. He whipped around slowly and noticed a hooded, cloak figure standing in the hall. Alex questioned in his coolest of manor when his eyes narrowed to slits, "Who's there?"

A voice said, calmly, "It's me, Jareth. . .distance cousin to Jakten!"

"What?" Alex asked. His vampire-heightened senses were now peeked. Then, he cooled down a notch. He knew Jakten from the years of being around the Lyonstone family. This Jareth is someone Alex never knew.

"My cousin will be here shortly!" Jareth bowed.

"Oh," Alex uttered nearly. He never left where he stood. His trust was wearing thin at the present time.

"Could I see Lady Rio?" Jareth asked in a humble tone.

Alex's eyes scanned the area for anyone who coming. He said very slowly, "Maybe!"

Alex pointed to the room. He waited for Jareth walk towards the door before they entered the room. Jareth glanced in mild wonder at the modern life support equipment. Then, he saw Rio in her deepest dreamtime yet. He became amazingly shocked at the sight in front of him. "Such magic!" Jareth gasped softly.

"Oh," Alex said. He viewed the sudden chance in Jarerth's facial expressions. He asked in his own wonderment, "You even been to a modern hospital?"

"Nay!" Jareth said. He instinctively bent down to get a better look at her. He reached out a hand through the bedrails. His little finger linked with Rio's little finger, wrapping itself around in a tender movement. He said as he felt her trapped spirit trying to get out, "She sleeps in a deep pool!"

"A deep pool?" Alex asked as his curiously was peeked a little bit more.

"A pool of deep, pure of sleep. I can feel the darkness cloaking her like a fog!"

"It's maybe the medicine they are giving her!"

"Medicine?" Jareth said. He needed quite bit of explanation as he quickly unlinked his finger from Rio's He walked over to the window. Noticing the nightlife, Jareth was still in the darkness of the room. The lights were automatically turned off in the room. Alex began to tell the whole story behind Rio's coma and the hospital stay.

"And so that is the whole story!" Alex said as he sat on a chair. Jareth was perched on the windowsill. Jakten had joined up with the other two. He sat on the second chair, as he wanted to see how Rio was doing.

"The Lady Lyonstone had been here for about two weeks!" Jakten said.

Then, he glanced at her for any reaction. He said, "Almost a fortnight."

"She needs a special charm or spell to break the deep sleep!" Jareth asked with a curious glance.

Alex had a small idea of what magic could do. He said, "No. . .there isn't any. The only thing to break the spell is her will to live!"

"That is very powerful indeed. She had the spirit of the eagle. She is will and free," Jakten said.

Serena, Lita and Charlie were at the library, trying to keep their minds on homework. The hours of schooling seemed to be a distraction. Then, a note was tossed onto the table where one of the girls was sitting at. They were startled at the flying object.

Serena reached over to take up the note with a slight gingery hand. Lita and Charlie watched as serene with both hands unfolded the note. She began to read it. After a minute, Lita asked, "What is the note about?"

Serena refolded the note with a surprised stare in her eyes. She said as Charlie and Lita leaned forward in order not to make a séance, "It's a note from Stephanie. She found a special book to help Rio wake up!"

"A special book?" Charlie asked as she began to wonder.

"Are you sure?" Lita asked Serena in a gasp.

"I'm not going to put it pass Stephanie on her find. We have got to try it!" Serena sighed as she tried to think of what was so special about Rio's book.

"We are going to see Stephanie now?" Charlie asked.

"She will be back in a few minutes. She had to get the book!" Serena said.

All three girls went back to their homework in a noxious mood. They waited until Stephanie came to the table. She was wearing a windbreaker. In her arm was a small cardboard box. Lita asked as she noticed Stephanie standing in front of the table, "What's in the box?"

"This is a special book that will help get Rio to wake up," Stephanie said as she placed the box on the table.

"Book?" Serena asked.

"It's a diary. Rio kept a diary after she was missing for a long time!"

Charlie had a flash back of a memory. She said exactly, "Yea. She was on a bus going to Middle Sex. When the bus came to a stop. It was three hours late when her Uncle Zigfield waited for her at the stop. Rio came up missing after the bus came there."

"When was this?" Serena asked as a concern look fell on her face.

"When?" Stephanie murmured loudly, placing a hand up to her chin. "She was thirteen."

"Was she O.K.?"

"She was missing for six months. When she was found. Her memory was lost," Stephanie sighed with a serious look on her face.

Both Lita and Serena were floored at the news. They gasped in unison, "What?"

Serena was given the diary to look at for a week. She and Lita went home with a little bit Rio's personal history. They never knew Rio had a past, which involved her being possible, kidnapped. The second thing of Rio's memory loss was another mind-blowing turn. She was never the one to tell her story to other people.

When the girls reached their home. The normal clamor of daily life never skipped a beat. Huruka and Setsuna were trying to help Mina with her math work. While Rei was sending Reenie and Hotura to the dinning room to pack their own lunches as she tried to review her history notes. Ami was carrying Chibi-chibi to the little one's bedroom. Finally Michuri was at the computer room to print out a report for her science class.

Luna was curled up on a chair in the front room. She saw the two girls entering the front room as she stood up straight. She asked, "Did you study hard with Stephanie and Charlie?"

"More than we barged for!" Serena said as she stood on the entranceway. She bent down to untie her shoes.

Rei who was now putting her stuff away, walked past the front room. She heard Luna and Serena talking about Rio's dairy. She asked as stopped for a minute, "What do you mean?"

"Hey, Rei!" Serena said as she glanced up at Rei.

Lita said as she entered the front room, "We got a book that could Rio to wake up in sort of a way!"

"What?" Rei gasped. Her hands went numb at the shocking news. She dropped her things and they fell to the floor with a loud thud. She appeared to be kicked into the head from the shock.

"It's Rio's dairy. She kept one, years ago. Stephanie took me that Rio had a special time, which she had written all about them. Stephanie told me if Rio would found out about someone lease reading her diary they would be in trouble."

"Rio's personal feelings," Rei sighed. "She had written down in a secret diary. I would understand that her upset mood if it could of being shown if I was her!"

"I'm curious on what is so important that Rio wanted to keep a secret even from us!" Lita sighed in wonder.

"We have to be patient. I have to call everyone about this one!" Serena said as she instantly came up with a rather good idea.

Lita and Rei now was convinced that Serena had gone off and lost her mind, gasped in unison, "Everyone?"'

"Yes, I have a feeling, Rio's diary is not all that inserting!"

Ayeka, Mina and Miss Gina were standing in the hallway at the high school. They were waiting for the others. It was another hour after classes were pout. The news of Rio's spread like wildfire in the circles of the young American group. The general idea of Rio's diary was love of her boyfriend, Dusty.

Oh, how that was quickly dashed.

At the Senshi house, it was standing room only. Everyone was curious when Stephanie brought out a normal looking medicine box. It was a different story inside of the box. Serena had read a couple of passages of the Rio's diary and became puzzled. Who were the Fabs? Why was there pictures stuck in some of the pages. There were a few newspaper clippings.

Stephanie and Serena were sitting side by side on the sofa as they watched the others talk. Serena asked Stephanie, "What was that box for?"

"This box was to keep certain items from a tip Rio had taken when she was fourteen," Stephanie uttered as she remember a wild trip that she and Rio was on.

Sasami was sitting on the floor with Reenie and Abby. She glanced up to ask, "Like what kinda things?"

"Pictures, some tapes and other things!" Stephanie whined as she began to open the box.

Chibi-chibi squeaked as she skipped past the girls, "Let me see!"

Chibi-chibi was full of curiously

Jakten said with a calming influence, "Slow down, there."

Stephanie had to be careful as she opened the box up. The first thing she pulled out was a photo book. She handed it to Reenie. Reenie opened it up and began to look at the pictures. She wasn't surprised to see pictures of Rio and her family or friends. Think she had to a double take as she noticed a picture of four mop-topped young men sitting around a table, alone. She asked, "Who are these guys?"

Stephanie saw the picture upside down. Stephanie nearly fell back on her seat. Reenie and Sasami wondered with wide eyes that were these four young men. Stephanie gasped nearly laughing as the memories came back, "These are the young men who changed the face of music for the rest of the twentieth century."

"Are you telling the truth?" Lita asked as she noticed Stephanie's outburst.

"Here. This might help!" she sighed, pulling out an audiotape.

Tracy noticed the tape and asked, "O.K. What's on the tape?"

"You'll have . . . give it a listen!" Stephanie said. Then, she told the others to past it down to Alex. He had a mini tape player.

The tape wasn't labeled as it was from hand to hand. It finally reached Alex. He had the player opened. Dropping it in the player, he snapped it shut. Pushing play, the tape retold what it recorded. There were many voices through out the first few minutes. Then, Rio's voice could be heard. She said, "O.K. I have two other things to make up. Then, I'm done."

"What?" a deep nasally voice asked.

"I. . ." Rio was beginning to say. There was a blank spot on the tape. There were a couple of minutes of noisy babble, which sounded like it came from the radio. The people who listened to the tape wondered what was going on. Then, a song started up softly, slowly and very humbly. It was a voice that was unaccompanied. The singing stopped. Finally, another male voice said, "Hey, give me four!"

"Not yet, I'm done!" hummed a rich upper crust voice.

"How long is this game going to take. You lot have been playing like nuts since five this morning?" A female voice asked.

"Rio!" Chibi-chibi squealed. She was the first one to recognize Rio's voice coming through the tape. She plopped down on an empty chair.

"Yes. That is Rio!" Belldandy said with a happy, but curious tone. Her eyes were fixed on the tape. "But, why is she on the tape?"

"Let me explain. Rio was treated like a sickly child. She was missing for six months after her thirteen birthday. We still don't know who or the reason why, behind the kidnapping," Stephanie said.

"Kidnapped?" Ami asked as she turned to stare at Stephanie.

Stephanie, did her finally have the police help in the case?" Ryoko asked. "I mean in the search. . .it's not like she was asking for it!"

"Yes, it took six months before a farmer in Perth of all places found her wondering in his wheat field," Stephanie said.

"Then, there were the two months in the hospital. She was staved and very badly dehydrated. It was another three months to get memory back!" Alex added. He remembered how Rio was after her rescue. "Funny . She didn't have a mark on her!"

"She wasn't like that all the time!" Nick asked as his right eyebrow twitched slightly. Something was getting Nick's mind racing. How can one girl loose her memory if she didn't have a mark on her body!

"I know it may sound crazy but, it did happen?" Lacriox asked.

"There is something. . . else!" Stephanie said as she began to search in the box a little deeper. Then she pulled out videotape. She said, "This is a sort of dairy as well!"

"Of what?" Ayeka asked. She was just as curious as the others.

If the tape had voices . . .maybe some pictures are on the video?" Lacriox asked in his gentle tone voice.

Stephanie held out the tape and said, "Here. . .if anyone wants to watch it. I've seen it at least twice."

Rei was the first to say, "Let me!" Then, she handed the photo book to someone else.

"We can catch it if we get a big enough T.V. to see it!" Allen said.

"Yes, but, there is only one that big at Sweet Haven!" Tinny said.

Ayeka was wondered out loud, "How about the diary?"

"First. Things. First. Stephanie," Jakten said as he folded his arms cover his chest. His face was in a seriously puzzled glance; just enough to make Stephanie's mind turn.

"O.K. The only thing is if Alex was there. What happed really?" Washu questioned Stephanie as she placed hand out in a half begging mode.

"I've got an idea!" Jaime said. His mind was trying to come up with a theory on waking up Rio.

"This idea is?" Lacriox asked as an eyebrow shot up in curiosity.

"Well," Jamie began to say. He placed a hand up to his chin. "I've seen articles about people who woke up after months of constant stimulus."

Taiki glanced at Jaime who was a person that got straight to the point. He said, "You mean talk to her."

"And this was tried on people and it worked?" Ryoko asked.

"It sounds like Jamie has stumbled onto a good one!" Jakten said.

"How can we loose?" Ten chi said.

"You want the diary?" Serena asked.

Skuld said, "Yea. Let's go to the hospital!"

It sounded like Skuld was getting ahead of herself. Doctor Johnson stepped in with an offering of advice, "Wait, we can't all go!"

Mihoshi had a rare bolt of the blue ideas, "If we go in small groups maybe we work on trying to get Rio up. Maybe will keep her minds on her!"

"What?" a few of the people uttered. Others were trying to figure out what Mihoshi was talking about.

"Are you saying that we should go to her in twos and threes and read this dairy?" Arika asked. "Is that what you are trying to express!"

"It sounds like very slim chance!" Devon said.

Seyia said his peace with a hint of hope, "Some times you have got to take those slim chances!"

Seyia had a ton on his mind. He wanted to walk it off. He told his brothers that he was going be gone for a while. It was still cold out when he tired to find his jacket. He went to the coat closet. He found in his search, he crossed a red plaid scarf, hanging on a rack. He held it between his fingers for a minute or two. He knew it was Rio's scarf. She had forgotten it when she was a study group one night. Always in a hurry, that was Rio. "Rio-chan! I'm hoping for you soul to be awakened!" he thought.

Seyia's memory replayed a snippet of Rio's voice in his head. She said, "Don't worry about me lad!"

He took the scarf from the rack. He held up to his face. A faint trace of water lilies and lilacs tickled his nose. He gentled rolled the scarf. He reached to place it on the shelf above the coats.

Seyia closed the coat closet after he grabbed his jacket from a hanger. Slowly he was putting on his coat. He couldn't a tear from quietly rolling down his cheek.

Yaten entered the living room. He caught a glimpse of Seyia when Seyia was buttoning up his coat. He noticed the tear trailing down his brother's face. He asked, holding back his own grief, "When are you coming back?"

Seyia shifted his gaze at his little brother. He sighed, "In a while! You need any books from the library?"

Yaten shook his head and said, "No!"

"O.K." Seyia said, as he made sure of his coat was buttoned. He adjusted the collar to keep the cold form creeping in. Seyia walked over to the front door. As he unlocked the door, he said, "Look, tell Taiki that I'll be late for supper. 'K?"

"Yea!" Yaten sighed, forcing a smile.

Seyia opened the door to step onto the porch. Tuffs of grass were showing thought the snow. Seyia closed the door.

Seiya walked down the path. He noticed the blue sky. It was the brightest of blues that he had seen in a long time. The little whips of clouds seemed to be a string toy to the heavenly angels. It was a good omen to see such a blue sky. Seiya walked in the direction the local park. He walked past Tenchi's house. Tenchi and Sasami were busy with the placing of large plastic Easter eggs in the yard and around the house. Sasami asked, "How about here?"

"That would be prefect," Tenchi said. He placed his egg at the foot of the porch steps. Then, he bent down for a minute to adjust the egg.

Seyia crossed the street to see Tenchi and Sasami. The front door opened and Ryoko came out in a flash. She was holding a clean of brightly colored bunnies and eggs. She had a mad expression on her face. Sasami and Tenchi glanced at each other as she came up to them. "Tenchi!" Ryoko yipped, trying to remain cool under pressure.

"What?" Tenchi questioned in his gentle manor. He stood up to look at his handiwork. He didn't want any bad blood between the girls.

Ryoko gripped as she held out the string, "Ayeka took the hammer!"

"Why?"

"Because she wanted to hang up this stuff!"

"Ayeka!" Sasami called out. She was going to out a stop to Ayeka and Ryoko's little spat.

"Yes!" Ayeka's voice could be heard coming from the front room.

"I need to see you!" Sasami said in her normal voice.

"O.K." Ayeka said as she came to the front door. On opening the front door, Ayeka stepped out of the porch. She was a little peeved as she asked, "What is it?"

Seyia walked to the path, which ran up to the porch. He said with a small smile, "Hiya, you guys!"

Tenchi turned his head to see Seiya. Then, Sasami stood up to whip around to see who was coming up the path. She said, "Hi, Seyia!"

Ryoko and Ayeka glanced at Seiya. Ryoko said, "Hiya!"

Ayeka uttered in a hopeful tone of voice, "How are the others?"

"Mina, Ami and Rei are great," Seiya said as he forced a smile.

"I saw Keiichi with Bell at the mall. They were being dragged along with Bell's sisters!" Tenchi said.

Life was getting back to the near normalcy that seemed out of reach in such a short time. Seyia sighed as he placed a hand up to bangs, "It seemed like a year or two had past, instead of two weeks!"

The others agreed. Then, Ryoko asked inquiring about a close friend, "What about Rio?"

Seiya was quiet for a minute before saying; "Tinny is with her right now. We hope to see her up and around. Terri. . .err, I mean Doctor Simms told me that she is still in coma. Rio looks like a sleeping princess!"

Tenchi questioned the handsome boy singer in a quirky little prod, "Will it take a special magic to wake her up?"

"I hope the simple thing is that special magic!" Seiya smiled. He tuned to walk down the path. Then, he said his goodbyes to the others at the end of the path. He walked down the street. He saw the newness trying to make its way through. This was a sign of awaking. Seiya stopped in front of the corner of State and North union. He wasn't too far from either the hospital or the park.

Then, he turned down the street. He was drawn to an empty lot in the middle of the block. This pretty boy stared uncontrollably for a couple of minutes at the lot. It was like Jim Morrison was calling his name in an unfelt whisper of time. He remembered the unearthly visit that Rio received by the Lizard king.

Seiya crossed the street to the face the opened lot. He stood there for ten minutes. He felt the present of a strong will to live. It danced around him, in his soul. Foe every heartbeat that his body gave into, the will to increased. It was like the will was Rio's soul dancing inside of Seiya's heart. Not the fun loving trickster or the serious by the book student. No, feeling was deeper earthier and primitive. It was an eye-opening shake up. Who was this thing belonging to himself or was a mystic child who held the thin cords of Sailor around her hands.

A cold breeze softly slapped Seiya in the face. He felt his mind lazily reentered to his body. What a daydream . . .or was it? Seiya quickly blinked. He had to go of this vision of Rio alone for once. If she was awake enough for answers that he would ask.

In the flat that Jamie and Tinny shared, Allen was visiting Jaime and Tinny. They sat in the living room. Allen began to rummage through his backpack as he sat on chair. He remembered having pictures of Rio at her fifteenth birthday party with four mop-topped young men.

"I was having a look around the house this morning when I found this!" Allen said as he opened his pack. He glanced at Tinny who was sitting on a three-legged wooden stool. Then, he glanced at Allen on the sofa.

"What's the photos are like?" Tinny asked.

"I think they were taken at Rio's birthday party. She wanted a memory, she needed a solid memory to look back on if she does lose it again."

Allen was still rummaging as he said, "She was scared when she got home from the hospital. Loosing her memory still is must make her go crazy."

"If it is. . .Rio hides pretty well," Jamie said. He raised an eyebrow in a little surprised movement.

"There they are!" Allen said as he pulled out a large envelope.

"Let me see. I wonder what they look like?" Jamie asked, rubbing the side of his face with a free hand.

Allen gave the envelope to Jamie. Jamie opened it carefully. Placing a hand to the packet, Jamie pulled them out with a gentle hand. He placed them on his lap. He took the first one out from the stack and studied it with a wondering eye. He saw himself in a few after a minute of searching. Then, he ran across a picture of Rio in a princess type dress. She smiled like no other could. Jamie started to laugh. Both Tinny and Allen exchanged puzzled glances at each other. It was long a happy laugh that they hadn't heard in a long time.

Tinny asked, "What's on you mind, mate?"

"This pic!" Allen said. He handed Tinny the photo book. Allen started to go through his backpack. He wanted to find another part of this puzzle to unlock Rio's world.

Tinny glanced at the picture on top. He noticed Allen search, "What are you looking for this time!"

"I'm not sure!" Allen sighed. "But, it will came to me!"

Tenchi and Washu were in Washu's temporary lab. Washu was sitting in front of her computer. Tenchi sat on a still. He watched the screen of the computer as he wondered to himself. Washu feed the computer a ton of computations. She said, "I know that I shut out the world for the last two days!"

"What are you doing? It doesn't like look you are grading papers!" Tenchi questioned the brilliant professor of the galaxy.

"No. I've done with grading papers about hour ago!" Washu tried to smile as she closed her eyes.

"It's that easy!"

"Yea. . .a little too easy!"

Tenchi looked at the screen. There were lines and boxes with math configuration on the computer screen. Washu said in a somber tone, "This is a sketch of the virus which now slowly attacking Rio's body!"

Tenchi remembered that Rio was ill during her coma. He asked, "The virus!"

"You remembered that night?" she asked as her eyes turned up to look at Tenchi.

"Yea. Do I ever," Tenchi snorted in disgust. He turned his face away for a second. Then, he glanced down at the floor. He was prayed with his while heart for miracle and a return of Rio's eyesight.

"I have been working with Miss Urd and Doctor Simms for the past week. I think we've found a missing hole in the chain."

"A missing hole?" Tenchi asked as his face was drawn into a skeptically state.

"Think of chain with a couple of missing links!" Washu said as she glanced at her keyboard.

"So, if you and others can pin-point the missing link. Then, you guys can heal Rio!"

Washu smiled softly as she nodded, "That's right!"

"How long before you find those missing links?"

"I can't say for certain, yet time is our side!"

Rio was going to have a treat. She was still in coma. The doctors and nurses saw Rio's friends on a daily bases when they came to visit her. She had no idea that she was in for a treat. She tried to wake up the use her spirit power. Forever time she believed that she was close on breaking through, there was another roadblock standing in the way. All she wanted was to wake up.

Belldandy, Ami and Stephanie came to see Rio. If she had woken up, she would have been very weak. There were hints and traces of her trying to come out of her state. There were tremors of her fingers, which was a clear sign of her struggle.

Belldandy brought her knitting with her. Ami and Stephanie brought their homework and Rio's dairy with them. Belldandy spoke to the nurse in charge. She wanted to fund out if Rio was getting better. She and the other two heard some sort of music coming from Rio's room. Who was playing the music?

As Belldandy entered the room, she saw Dusty and Allen sitting on one side of Rio's bed. They had a tape player going not too loudly. They were playing one of Rio's favorite songs. Ami and Stephanie were standing in the doorway, just waiting until the song finished playing. It was one of her favorites. Ami and Stephanie noticed Belldandy entered the room. Belldandy asked about the name of the song.

"Ninetieth nervous breakdown by the Stones!" Stephanie said after she gave a listen to the song.

"That's one of the Stones' earliest stuff!" Allen said. Then, he said, "Hey, Miss Bell, Ami. . .Steph!"

Belldandy smiled, "Hello!"

Then, she walked up to Rio's bed. She looked down at the sleeping girl. Rio's right hand twitched a little. Belldandy wondered if Rio's reflexes were responding to the sounds of daily life or was it Rio trying to break thought. She thought, "Rio. Please wake up!"

Ami was putting her book bag on a small table that stood a few feet from the bed. She glanced up at the colorful pictures that Chibi-chibi and Sasami drew for Rio. There was a poem neatly copied in fancy script. Hotura and Abby must of copied from a book to the paper.

Stephanie and Belldandy were trying to see if there were any changes in Dusty. He had a great amount of hope, which was now being burnt out on the daily visits to Rio. Dusty was still sitting at Rio's bedside in his wheel chair. "When is the next dime are you going to school?" Ami asked Dusty. She was going to break him away form the task at hand.

Dusty sighed as he glanced at Rio, "I'm sure it's after I go see the doctor. I'm getting better!"

"That's good!" Belldandy smiled.

Then, Dusty tuned to see Rio for one last time. He was wheeled himself over to the foot of the bed. His coat was draped over the foot to the bed. He reached down to grab the coat. He said, "I hope tomorrow you will wake up soon!"

Allen said his goodbyes to the girls. He was putting on his coat. He placed the tape player in his coat pocket.

Belldandy watched the monitiros for a minute. She raised a hand up to her hat. Taking off it from her head, Belldandy felt a change in Rio. There was a struggle inside that Rio was painfully winning. Belldandy stuffed the hat in her jacket pocket. Ami found her study plan book. She opened out to see what her least subject was up. Stephanie had to keep her crying back. She felt terrible for every time she had visited her cousin. She felt the weight of guilty weighting her down like a millstone around her neck. She blindly reached to the zipper of her jacket. Belldandy saw Stephanie as she took off her jacket. She walked over the young girl. The gentle goddess saw the pain surfacing. She asked, "What's wrong?"

"Don't know. Uh?" Stephanie sighed as she swallowed. She sniffed, holding it in, "I wish Rio didn't have go through this!"

" I can understand what you are going through," Belldandy said. She placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "I could have lost Keiichi."

"How?" Stephanie asked as she sniffed.

"He was gassed with a poison. It made him very sick!"

Ami sensed a tender sisterly monument between Belldandy and Stephanie. She asked as she thought up a quick excuse, "You want anything? I'm kind of thirsty!"

Belldandy knew that Ami was be kind said, "Yea, how about a can of tea. Stephanie, would you like a can of pop or tea?"

Stephanie quietly nodded as tear rolled down her cheek. Ami closed her book. Then, she stuck it back in her bag. It was getting late. Ami turned to leave the room and get the cans of refreshments. She said, "I'll be gone for a little while!"

Belldandy smiled as she glanced the departing figure, "Fine!"

Ami retuned with three cans of tea. She had a few questions about Rio's condition. She stopped at the nurse's station. Ami asked a nurse who was at the station if still any changes. She hoped that Rio's mind wasn't affected by the coma. She prayed for one day that Rio's health would return.

Ami went to Rio's room. As she entered the room, she noticed that Belldandy and Stephanie sitting on a couple of chairs next to Rio's bed. The two were talking about Rio's dairy. "Ami . . .that was quick!" Belldandy said when she looked up at the blue haired girl.

Ami held out the cans and said, "Here . . .take one!"

Belldandy and Stephanie each took a can. The diary was opened to the front page. There were a few pictures of people. One picture was that of Rio. Stephanie was opening her can of tea glanced at up Ami. Ami asked as she noticed the picture of Rio, "What are you looking at?"

"Rio's dairy! You want to hear me read?" Belldandy asked.

"Oh," Ami said, wondering about her friend's dairy. Like the others, Ami was curious. Did Rio have any secrets? Ami nodded, "Yes, I would like to hear what Rio was up to when she wrote her diary!"

"And you?" Belldandy questioned Stephanie.

"It may bring back some memories!" Stephanie said sadly.

"Memories?" Ami asked. She gave the second can to Belldandy.

"Here, let me read the beginning!" Stephanie said. Belldandy gave the diary to Stephanie. After a minute, Stephanie read the first page. Then, she began to read it out, "I never had a diary. I have written stories, poems and junk in notebooks before. I like to write and it helps me to see name in print. Maybe between the lines of boring nothing, I can come up with a novel that can knock a person's socks off!"

It seemed like Rio's coma was growing less and less. The others were reading out loud her diary, as it was pass from hand to hand. The others found the story behind the mysterious pictures and tape.

There were three or four folded chairs leaning in a corner of the room. Seiya and Haruka who never saw eye to eye on anything came into the room. This time they were putting their differences aside. Seiya had the diary. It was pass to him from Tenchi and the girls. They found out who were those four mysterious men were. They were the British group the Beatles. At first, Tenchi and the girls had to read the part where Rio was nearly kidnapped by Paul McCartney, himself. It was a terrible mistake as Rio written down in her diary, Paul was trying to ask a question and other three were waiting to know where they were and what year. Then, the big questions were why they (the Beatles) kidnapped by strangers.

Seiya had Haruka waked to Rio's room. Things were just exciting for the reader and listeners. Ayeka who was sat in the room before the other two showed up. She was on Rio's left side as she sat. She swore that Rio was going to wake up.

"Seiya," a voice said, trying to get his attention.

"Uh?" Seiya said. He glanced around the hall. He noticed Arika and Gina walking up the hall. There was a surprised air in the hall. Akira heard on the news about a woman who was found dead near the Ohio-PA state line. He asked the two if they heard about it. Haruka shook her head, as Seiya said, "No!"

Gina was curious, why was Arika asked about a dead woman. Was there a contraction to the night when some of the kids were hurt? She asked, "How's Rio?"

"Is she trying to wake up?" Haruka asked.

"How can you tell?" Akira asked. He saw the twitching and the slight fluxes in Rio's body.

"She fell my touch when I held her hand. She tries to move her hand as I hold it!" Seiya smiled.

"We know it sounds like we are hoping against the odds. That's we have for her is wishing!" Haruka sighed.

"Hope is the great treasure. . . and you're not wasting it!" Gina smiled.

Rio, in her deep coma was a dark case. She heard Seiya, Gina, Haruka and Arika entering the room. She felt as thorough she was trying to find a key, a way out. It was hard and difficult way to break out of. The spell had to be distorted. The lesson at hand to give was for near future.

Seiya walked it to the bed. He was getting up to the part of the diary that the strange man in black was perusing the Beatles. Rio, Steve, Dusty and Stephanie kept the Fabs in at Uncle Zigfield's London flat. Seiya wondered if Rio was going to get the Beatles back to their own time.

The others were talking about difference things. Gina saw a shooting start as it shimmered in the night sky through the window. She hoped for miracles not just one, instead Gina hoped for the lives of kids to be no longer scared from the badly ripped souls by a terrible hand.

"Hi!" Haruka said as she stood now at the other side of Rio's bed. She glanced down at the sleeping figure.

"You got the diary?" Gina asked Seiya.

"Yea. I found this poem stuck in between the pages. I never knew that Rio like poems," Seiya sighed with a small smile.

"Rio is the wind!" Haruka chuckled softly.

"The wind?" Arika and Gina asked in united curiosity.

"I think what Haruka is saying is Rio takes a thing a little at a time and scatters them in her soul. She is like a jewel, meaning she has many sides!" Seiya said with a small cheerful smile.

"I see," Gina said.

"Alex was saying the something about her. I didn't want to believe it at first. Now after seeing her even in this state. She is a very usual person!" Arika nodded slightly.

Rio thought in her coma, "Seiya, I miss you!"

"I have to find the diary and we can start reading. I want to know how Rio going to have any birthday party, if both her Uncles have to leave for their jobs assignments!" Seiya said.

"I'm a tough nail. I can't bent that easily," Rio said in her dreamtime. Rio folded her arms over her chest. Then, she nodded.

"Her aunts moist of looked in on her!" Gina said as she glanced at a small card on the over bed table.

"She has a good family!" Haruka said as she remembered how Rio's Aunt Eva and Anthony were like.

Seiya sat at Rio's right side. He was reading her diary. He said out loud to her, "That thing I wanted the most turned into a distrait. I got a post card from my Uncle informing me that he was traveling to Chillie. He is covering a story about a president. With his photos Uncle Nig can tell the best of the best stories."

"It is time?" Gina asked as she heard a nurse entering the room. She was going to check on Rio's vitals, as the others remained quiet. The nurse checked the monitors before glancing over Rio. Checking Rio's skin colour, the nurse said, "I'm surprised to see such a crowd to be visiting her."

"That's nothing. Rio has lots of friends!" Haruka said.

"I'm impressed," the nurse said. She and other staff remembers saw Rio's friends come everyday to see her.

"We want Rio back, if we hope, then nothing is impossible," Seiya smiled.

Rio thought, "I've seen the darkness is really like. What I need is to see the light of my true friends!"

"What if she wakes up?" the nurse asked.

"We will take it slowly," Haruka said.

Days had past along with Rio's diary. Rio's adventures to different parts of Europe were drawing others to the now the Asian rim. Was it going to blow others minds away?

She wrote,

"Steve was now baby the plane. He was fixing the motor while I tired to keep the lowest of profiles with the four lads from Liverpool. It was close to imposable. I need much for prayer. I hear the door. I have an easy time keeping them in their rooms when it time for sleep. What about the other fifteen to sixteen hours the Fabs are awake and needing things to do. My past will apparently sneak up on me. A figure was standing right behind me. I turned to see that it was Ringo who snuck in at an opportunity time. I was writing at a desk in my hotel room. We had ended up at four-star hotel near the Black Forest in Germany. I haven't been to that part of Germany in a long time.

I told Ringo I was writing a story. He just nodded and said, "Oh!"

Then, I heard Paul asking George if he wanted to play a round of cards. George like the other three lads were bored to tears with the ton of free time which now lay in front of them. I forbid them from playing any music for the plain fact that we were being followed by strange men in black."

"What a minute!" a voice asked. It was Yaten who was going all the talking. He, Tenchi and Urd were reading the diary as they visited Rio.

Rio hadn't still woken up. Terri told the Sailor Senshi that Rio had a brain scan and found that Rio's mind was fully active. She could feel pain and touch. The wait was not growing old. In fact, reading her diary was extremely fascinating. For every minute the closer Rio got, she fought the demon that had Rio by a short chain. She told the demon she wasn't going to be on that chain for very long.

Yaten glanced at Rio. He knew she was strong by finding out her fears and dreams. He started to believe that she was waking little by little.

"I know Rio has a plan for getting out of the hotel with the Beatles in tow!" Tenchi said.

Urd sighed as she smiled at Rio's predicament, "It seems like where every she goes, those strange men show up. They seemed to be after the Beatles for one reason or another!"

"Rio is pretty smart on her feet!"

"That's her. I never knew when she wasn't!" Yaten said.

Rio heard the conversation and felt like screaming. To be in the state drove Rio up the wall. She thought to herself, "I will leave this world. If even I go blind the process!"

Another week had past. The Three lights were on their daily visit to see Rio. After finding out a little bit more about Rio from her diary. Not only did she have the Beatles back to their time. The others found out on how Wolfsbane became Rio's son. Then, there another set of diaries telling the tale of Rio's encounter with the Rolling Stones. They were surprised the Stones weren't the told that was out now. No this was the Stones from the 1960's.

Rio slowly plotted and hoped that her breaking free from her captor's grasp was in the near future. She was still in the final stages of her coma. She barged with the virus, which held her in its grip for the last two weeks. Seiya remembered as he waited for the elevator to come the male members of the Friends of America. It was held at the wooded area between Master Poal's house and Jakten's house. Seiya and his brothers were going to have their eyes opened. Tenchi and Keiichi were there as well.

It was just being to get dusk; the leaves form the fall still carpeted the ground. The elders of Rio's tribe Allen, Jakten and Poal stood at a very special tree. It was a very young tree and stood nearly three feet high. Poal had in his left hand a knife. He glanced over at the tree as if to find the prefect limb to cut off. Taiki walked over to Poal. Poal was an alchemist, which fascinated Taiki. He asked the eldest of the elders, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find the youngest limb of this Thrian tree! The sap from the tree is known to cure temporary blindness!" Poal uttered in a loud tone.

"Are you sure?" Taiki asked a somewhat painful question to the elder.

Poal drew a harsh glance at the young man before smiling with plain wisdom. He said, "My dear boy. Let me tell you a bit of advice. The youth shall seek a world of pure light."

Taiki mulled over Poal's statement. He felt like he and the others were on the road to help Rio. "I hope we're traveling down that same road together," Taiki sighed.

Poal snorted as he smiled, "Young people!"

He walked to a tree stump, which sat in near the tree. Slowly sitting himself down, Poal sat on the edge of the stump. He padded his thread bear coat for his clay pipe. "Young people want all the answers down in a fast and easy way. They aren't like you or the others. You are willing to take the hard and long road!"

"Sometimes, I want to get off that road. Yet, my brothers are there for me if I do get off. They are willing to get back on!"

Jakten walked over to where the Elder of the Arcadian planet was sitting at. He asked with a raised eye brow, "is that so?"

"I haven't seen two worlds with two eyes and not see a blessed thing!" Poal grunted with a pout. His left hand had plunged into a pocket. His fingers had found the thin steam of his pipe. He slowly pulled it out, hoping that it was full. He had a hold of an old and loved pipe.

Jakten closed his eyes for a minute. He let the wind talk to him for an answer. He opened his eyes to see the first star, shining in the light dusky sky. He smiled as he pinned everyone's hopes onto that star.

Poal stuck the pipe in his mouth. Then, he went through his pockets to find that lighter. He founded it in another pocket and pulled it out. Taiki noticed that the lighter was no normal looking lighter. It was small and thin, it appeared to be like a tube. Poal stuck the tip of it in his pipe. As began to light his pipe, Poal said, "If you do walk, keep your eyes straight on the road!"

Seiya, Taiki and Yaten went to the ICU floor. Seiya had an idea in his head for a long time. He knows about Rio's love for music. A few of the others had played tapes and the radio as they visited her. Rio heard the music when she was trying to strengthen her soul. Now tired of fighting, Rio wanted to wake up finally. Inside of the deep realm, Rio tied to free herself by pulling at a thread that kept the warrior child in hold.

Seiya ordered his two brothers to pick a song Rio knew. They racked their brains out as they began to think of a song that Rio loved. She had so many different and favorite groups to choice from.

Taiki looked at Seiya with a puzzled stare. He was a brain and tried to meet deadlines for schooling. He also tutored a few of the others when they needed. He was now trying to figure out what Seiya wanted him to do. "Rio has many favorites!"

"And different tastes!" Yaten spoke up. He remembered Rio knowledge and love for a large cut of musical world. Rio was now listened to a little j-pop. The local college station that she worked for WRMU had an hour formatted to international music. It was a little piece of home to the Japanese students when they heard a song from the hottest new artist. Rio also loved Jazz, old-time music, rock 'n' roll and other types of music.

"I know Rio's soul must have a few branches. Y'know, like a tree!" Seiya smiled.

"More like a bush," Taiki quipped. He had a rare streak of humor. He never saw a girl who was different in the many ways like Rio.

"Serena or Ami or even Hotura stays in personality, "Yaten said.

"We're talking about Rio. When they made her, they said, 'That's it. Break the mold. There can't be another one," Taiki shook his head. He looked like one of the designers of who helped in the plains of making human babies.

Seiya and Yaten stared at Taiki. The statement was funny enough that they had to bite their lower lips to keep from laughing. It took a few minutes of holing it back, before Seiya and Yaten burst out laughing. Then, Taiki's mouth began to twitch. Seiya saw his middle brother snorting for a long time, before laughing loud and long.

Rio in state she was in heard the Three lights laughing. She closed her eyes in her mind. To hear her friends enjoying the thing, which made her different, seemed gave her courage. "I want to be free," she nearly shouted to the unseen virus.

"What?" an acid filled voice hissed in her ear.

Rio felt the wires, which seemed to hold her in place, tightened. She gasped trying to wiggle as she thorough she was a fish.

"Still. . .be. . .still," the acidy voice hissed for a second time.

Rio tried to breath. She felt the wipe which the tip had pierced her neck. Was this creature trying to keep Rio in the endless dark? She was strong, not willing to give up. Rio cried out of her frustration, "Let me go!"

Seiya was entering the semi dim room. He noticed the feeling of hopelessness in the room. Rio was still hooked up to the same machines as before. He saw a bag of clear green liquid hanging from the IV pole. He remembered over hearing Terri talking to Serena and Rei when they visited Rio about a powerful antibiotic he wanted to try out on Rio. He was surprised after a week that the medicine was slowly disabling the virus.

Seiya walked over to Rio's bed. He knew that Rio's life spark was just under a deep sleep. She gave that spark freely when she slept.

"I wish you would wake up!" a voice begged.

Seiya knew it was Yaten talking. Yaten was now begging for Rio to wake up. A true change of his personality had taken place. He wasn't normally the begging type. He was a little bit of a brat. After Rio's coma, he had changed. He wanted to see Rio grow in her roll as a Sailor Senshi. Then, Yaten said, "I was remembering how shocked the Beatles were when they saw you being kissed by Dusty, missy!"

Seiya smiled as he nodded, "They were trying to protect Rio."

"Innocence!" Taiki remarked with a touch of slyness. He read how Rio, Alex and the Stones pulled off a fake funeral to get themselves out of a sticky spot with a group of cops. He said, "She led an exciting life!"

"And she will!" Seiya added.

Seiya saw Yaten walking up to the bed. Rio's left hand very slightly twitched. He smiled as he leaned to tenderly touch Rio's arm.

Rio wondered in her mind, "Oh, who is touching me?"

"Hey," Yaten said. "Little coyote, time to wake up!"

"Yaten, you do have a soft side," Rio smiled. Then, she felt a shooting pain in her legs. It was the virus punishing her feeling with her heart.

"I have told you that you aren't aloud to have feelings!" the virus boomed in Rio's mind.

Rio yearned to scream. She wanted very badly to get back at the virus. She cried out in her darkness, "You can't live my life. It's my life with all mistakes, adventures and good times. Why can't I have feelings!"

She yanked at the neck wires. Bracing herself, Rio pulled the wire and experienced sheer agony.

"What?" the voice screamed.

Seiya watched as Taiki took a spot on the other side of the bed. He wondered out loud, "How long had it been?"

Seiya and Yaten glanced at each other. Seiya said as he raised right hand up to his chin, "Two almost three weeks!"

"How is her brain?" Yaten asked. He wondered how long Rio's mind could stay sleeping for so long.

"Terri told me that he did scans on a weekly basis. He had a report just yesterday. Rio is fine. Her brains are working. There is active!" Rio pulled as hard as she could. She felt like screaming because of the pain the virus showed itself to Rio. It was a glob like in its appearance. There were five or six tentacles, sticking from different sides. It screamed ever louder as it watched, "STOP. STOP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Rio ignored the virus.

Seiya knew Rio's love for music as he thought of using a song to wake her up. He asked her, "Rio would you like to hear a song?"

Rio's fingertips barely raised themselves off of the sheet and tapped the main sheet. Yaten walked over to the left side of the bed. He reached over to take Rio's hand in his. Seiya stood at the foot of the bed. Taiki did something out of his normal personality. He leaned forward and kissed Rio on the cheek. Seiya and Yaten said in unison, "You better not let Dusty not see that!"

Taiki knew they were just teasing him. He straightened up and glared for a second at his brothers. His glare turned into a smile. He asked, "You think?"

Rio felt the tip of the wire leaving her neck. She bore down on her pulling as she struggled at the wire.

The voice hissed hotly in Rio's ears, "I will have you destroyed!"

Rio's mind cried out, "I'm not going to give up!"

Taiki said, "I think a good song would be, Chasin' after you!"

"Will Rio wake up to that song?" Yaten asked. He knew Rio asked about song a couple of times as they walked home from school. The Three lights sang out loud during the walks. Rio wondered how The Three Lights were singing about.

"Yea, let's!" Seiya added with a jerk to his shoulders.

Taiki sighed, "Fine!"

Seiya asked his brothers if they would hold hands. He had a feeling if they snag while holding hands with Rio. The power of their love could wake up Rio. Seiya stared to sing very slowly, "Chasin' After You, oimotomete, Ano FUREIGURANSU anata wo, Dare mo ubae yashinai sa, Kaguwa shiki hoshi wo. MEMORII wa biryuushi sa, Deeply in my heart, shimi tsuita mama. Taema naku kakitateru Kono kokoro, Crazy Me!"

In Seiya's heart, he prayed, "Come on. We need you!"

Then, Taiki picked up and followed the tune, "Yozora wo suberu ryuusei no, Imawa no kirameki ni kake, Anata ni tadori tsukeru koto, Hitasura chikau yo, Shoutin', For My Love, Shoutin' For Your Love!"

He thought of Rio's playful heart and personality.

Yaten caught the tail end of the song, "Chasin' After You, mugen koete, Ano FUREIGURANSU sagashi ni. Doko ni hisonde mo kaori wa. Kakushi kirenai sa."

The Three lights sang very gently the last chorus of the song, "Kono ude ni dakishimeru,

Hold you in my arms, tada sono koto wo, Egaki tsutsu negai tsutsu, Miageru yo, Starry Night! Anata wa boku no yobikake ni, Can't You Answer? Sube wo motanai, Sono mama matte ite hoshii, Kanarazu aeru yo, Shoutin' For My Love, Shoutin' For Your Love!"

Rio gave another hard tug. The tip slipped out of her neck. The pain was intense as she screamed in her mind, "LET ME GO!"

There was tightening of Rio's grip. She was trying to climb out of the body robbing state she was in. Taiki felt Rio's fingers move very slightly. At first he believed it was the natural sleep movements. He glanced down at his hand. Rio's hand jerked a little for a second time. He broke away form his signing, leaving Seiya and Yaten still singing.

There was a little bit of stuttering in Rio's breathing. At first, Taiki began to be alarmed. He let a few seconds pass. Another stutters deeper this time. He wanted to grab a nurse from the hall. He felt Rio's hand for a third gasping. His voice yipped, "Seiya!" he gasped.

"What?" Seiya asked as he stopped suddenly his singing.

"Rio. I think she waking up!" Taiki said. He quickly looked down at Rio.

She was starting to breathing as she fought against the ventilator. Seiya gently jerked by the arm of his younger brother. "Yaten . . .get the nurse . . .if Rio is waking up. . .the nurse should know!"

Yaten started at Rio for a few minutes. He needed to hurry if Rio was going to survive. He told his brothers he would get the nurse. He relapsed Rio's hand gently. "I hope you guys are right!" he said before darting out of the room. Yaten walked in a huff to the nurse's station and noticed a nurse at the station reviewing a set of notes. He gasped as he placed a hand up his chest, "Excuse me!"

The nurse glanced up at the youngest Kuo brother. She said, "Slow down, sir. Is there anything you want?"

"Yes," he nodded quickly. "Miss Lyonstone is starting to wake up. She sounds like she's struggling!" Yaten said between breaths.

"Oh," the nurse said quickly when she instantly realized what the situation was. Closing the notebook, she grabbed her stethoscope.

Seiya and Taiki were watching Rio as she woke up. She tried to open her eyes yet the weight of the bandages was holding her eyes back. She was fighting the urge to fall back to her dark world. Seiya heard the faint, rasping whispers coming from her. Then, with everything ounce of her strength, Rio said, "Seiya!"

"That's it. Come on, we want you to stay here with us!" Seiya said in a calm tone.

"I want to hear your singing!" Rio said in half dead tone.

"Rio, please stay awake!" Yaten pleaded gently. He felt Rio's grip grow stronger.

"Yes, she was waking up!" Taiki said as he and the nurse entered the room.

Rio wondered out loud, "Where am I?"

The nurse walked over to Rio's bed. Rio said, "I'm so sleepy!"

"Yea, you have been sleeping for a while!" Yaten sniffed with a sad smiled.

"Rio, can you hear me?" the nurse asked as she came up to the bed.

"Yea," Rio called out weakly as her one hand tired to move.

The nurse turned to see speak to Seiya and Taiki, She instructed them to leave the room for a couple of room.

Seiya agreed, "Right!"

He told Taiki, he was going to a pay phone. He yeaned to tell the good news about Rio coming out of her coma finally.

At the Senshi house, Houtra, Sasami and Reenie were playing cards together. Abby and Skuld were just beginning to leave. They had their study group early in the day. Serena was seeing the two girls. They stood in the living room when Abby was getting her coat out of the coat closet. Skuld was starting to button her cloak.

The phone rang in the kitchen. Serena knew the other phone was in the TV room. She told Skuld and Abby that she would see them later. She heard Ami answering the phone in the kitchen.

Abby said as she stood in the doorway, "Thanks for having us over!"

"Sure!" Serena nodded.

Ami stuck her head in the living room entrance way. She asked Serena if she could step in the kitchen for a minute. Serena glanced over to see Ami and asked, "What is it?"

"It's Seiya. He's calling from the hospital. He had some news!" Ami said in a calm voice.

Serena walked over to Ami in a puzzled mood. What was the news Seiya had to say? She told Ami to hold the phone. Serena had to give Skuld and Abby a quick goodbye before going to the kitchen.

At the same time, Seiya stood at a pay phone near the E/R. he was almost in tears as he held the phone to his ear. Seiya felt an incredible high. Taiki and Yaten were still at the hallway outside of Rio's room. The nurse was checking over Rio's vitals. Serena's voice came over the phone and asked in a puzzled tone, "What's up, Seiya?"

Seiya wanted to laugh out of his own excitement as he said, "Rio had just woken up!"

"Wha?" Serena gasped. Then, there were a few minutes of dead air over the phone. Then, she nearly screamed, "Are you joking?"

Pushing the phone away form his ear, Seiya shook his head for a minute. Then, he gingerly replaced the receiver back on his ear. He said, "No. Rio's awake!"

"How is she?" Serena asked before telling the news to Ami.

"I gotta go, listen tell the others," Seiya said.

"When do we get to see her?"

"I'm not sure, bye!"

Serena became very excited. She was surprised to hear the news of Rio leaving her coma. She squealed in happy delighted, "Bye!"

The next day, the Sailor Sensei showed up at Rio's hospital room in small groups. She was still blind and there were fresh bandages on her eyes. She was trying to heal herself from the inside out. Hotura and Reenie sat at Rio's beside while Lita and Michuri at the window. They were explaining what the seen world was like to Rio.

The others had a conference with Terri in a room off the hallway. They were given fell progress on Rio's condition. It was looking promising. Terri said, "I took a small sample of Rio's blood and found her count was growing."

Serena glanced at Terri before looking at her fingers, "Is that good!"

Terri nodded, "In a way. She is getting stronger!"

Ami asked as she wanted to know about Rio's condition, "When will she go home?"

"I a week. There are tests and modification of Rio's medicine. There is also a change she has to stay at home for the first week. She needs complete bed rest for the first day or so. I'll you give a list," Terri said as he placed a hand up to his chin.

"It all came too fast. I hope we can catch up," Hakura smiled as she winked. Then, she nodded.

"You mean the coma and her blindness!" Serena asked.

"In a way!" Hakura said as she began to tap the table with her fingertips.

"Rio believes it was a string of bad luck," Setuna sighed.

"Yet, she bounces back and landed on feet," Rei said with a wave of her left hand.

In Rio's room, Reenie was reading her paper on the idea of what Easter meant to her. She was Japanese and wasn't exposed to Easter like Rio was. She said as she read off the paper, "I like to see the Easter bunny!"

"Reenie?" Hotura said, as she knew Reenie's believes of a fake bunny were maybe the last fragments of her childhood. She smiled as she turned to see her best friend, "If there was an Easter bunny. I hope you're not disappointed!"

"Reenie!" Rio whispered loudly.

"Yea?" Reenie asked as she lowed her paper. She was looking at Rio with puzzled glance, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just hope you can have all your dreams come true!" Rio said. Then, she blindly groped for Rennie's hand. She wanted to know Reenie was going stay for while. Rio felt greatly alone when she was in her coma.

Hotura leaned forward as she reached over. She gently took Rio's hand. Hotura said, "You still have you dreams?"

"Why do you ask that?" Rio questioned her fellow senshi.

"I don't wanted see you to lose your dreams!" Hotura said. She took Rio's hands into hers.

"No, darlin'. I would fulfill them. Even if I have to be taught how to read and write!"

The days following Rio's awaking, the Sailor Senshi was busy with preparing for a special homecoming. Terri warned about infection, which could be transmitted by the number of people who were going to visit her.

Darien and Serena came to Rio's room. She was dressed in a green sweater and blue jeans. Serena knew that Rio's cousin Stephanie had brought a change of clothes for Rio to go home in. Rio sat in a chair as she listened to the TV. She had on a classic movie channel. With the loss of her sight, Rio's sense of hearing was sharp as she picked on the sounds of Serena and Darien entering the room. She asked, "Who's there?"

"It's us, Serena and Darien!" Serena said as she came close to where Rio was sitting at.

Rios sighed as she raised her head, "I'm ready. I want to go home!"

Serena placed a hand on Rio's shoulder. She said gently, "You can rest in quiet. There is no more pain."

Serena saw the times that Rio was treated by the medical staff. The infection took its toll on her best friend.

Darien's voice filled with confidence said, "I'm glad you are have gotten stronger!"

Darien's car pulled up the drive way in the Senshi' s house. Serena got out of the car. She walked up to the house by the path to see if anyone else was there. Serena had asked for the day off from school. She was going to help Rio when the young Celtic was released from the hospital.

Darien drove Serena and Rio home. Rio sat on the backseat. She felt very much weakened by the condition she was in. Terri told her the recovery time was better if she could rest at her house. She rarely complained or ordered people about. Rio was quiet in her withdrawal from the world during her illness.

Rio heard the car stopped and a door open. It was Serena going to get a blanket from the house. Rio was beginning to catnap when Serena came back. She had a blanket draped over one of her shoulder. She slowly opened back car door. Then, she leaned a little forward and said, "Rio. We're home!"

Rio sensed the cold coming from the opened door. She said, "Oh."

"I want you to lean forward!"

Rio did what she was told to do. She felt the warmth of the blanket covering her. She lastly took in along full of air. She said, "It's good be home!"

Serena was finishing up placing the blanket around Rio's shoulders. Darien opened his car door and stopped out. He walked around the car after he closed the door. He was now standing next to Serena. Serena asked, "Are you ready to go to your room!"

Rio nodded. Serena backed away few a feet. Darien leaned forward as he pulled gently Rio by arm and leg. When Rio's body was close to the edge, Darien wrapped his arm around Rio. He picked her up and out of the car. Rio rested in Darien's arms. Serena followed Darien as he walked up the path.

In no time, Rio was taken to a room. It wasn't her bedroom. The others were told to switched room from the computer room. Terri knew Rio needed special care.

Serena showed Darien where the old computer room was. He quickly walked to the rooms Rio slept lightly. Serena entered the bedroom after Darien entered the room. She walked over to Rio's bed. Darien and Taiki, days early took apart Rio's bed and moved it to the old computer room. Then, they undid and reconstructed the new computer room. They took he computer to the TV room across the house.

Serena entered the room, slowly following Darien. He saw the bed as Serena darted over to the bed. He watched as she set up the bed for Rio. Rio said, "I'm going to crash for a while!"

"Do you know that Terri is coming?" Serena asked as she fluffed up the pillow.

"Yea, he needs to give me a shot!"

When Serena was finished, she walked towards the head of the bed. Darien came up to the bed. He bent over to put Rio on the bed. He pulled up a blanket overt Rio's frail body. Both Serena and Darien glanced at each other. In their hearts was still the hope for Rio's recovery.

Bell dandy was washing dishes when she heard Skuld and Keiichi having a disagreement in the living room. Urd was sitting in the window seat near the kitchen. She was looking over her notes. Things seemed as peaceful as a sigh.

In the instant as Belldandy turned towards the china cabinet. She held a gravy boat in her hands. She felt a presence coming up form behind her. She spun around in a flash to see Frick standing just a few feet from her. She gasped as the boat nearly slipped out the gentle goddess's hands.

Frick was noticing the falling piece, moved his hand slightly without an effort. The boat gently fell to floor. "Milady!" Frick said in a deep rich tone of voice. He bowered in front of her. He had quickly changed into a man of 12th century court.

"Who are you?" Belldandy asked.

"Milady. . .I'm called Frick!"

"Sis?" Urd called out. She was wondering whom Belldandy was talking to.

Belldandy said as she turned in the general discretion of the window, "Just a stranger!"

"Yes, young miss. Say I just blew in!" Frick said in a sly nervous tone.

Belldandy glanced at Frick to ask, "What do you want?"

He placed a finger up to his lips and said, "Nothing to say. . .only there is good news!"

"Good news?" Belldandy asked. Her guard was up. Was this strange man from Mara? She was going let this creature slip by.

"There will be a difficult road. At the end of it will be great day of triumph!" Frick said.

"Come on, Skuld. There is a baseball team at the high school!" Keiichi said as he voice trailed from the hall.

"All right. I'll see when them play to believe you!" Skuld said as she entered the kitchen. She saw Belldandy and Frick. She was totally over whelmed by the appearance of Frick.

Frick instantly spun around to face Skuld. He easily startled her. Her hands flew up to her shoulders. He gave her a wide tooth grin as he said, "Hello!"

Skuld gasped, open mouthed, "I don't know who you are, but why did you come here?"

Her eyes were growing wide by the minute.

"I just want to spread the news of life reborn, just believe in it!" Frick said before disappearing in front of Skuld and Belldandy in a puff of smoke.

Both Belldandy and Skuld were stunned. Skuld gaped, "What was that?"

"I'm not sure of anything. . .anymore!" Belldandy uttered loudly. She felt her eyes being opened for the first time to the realms of magic from the fair folk.

"Belldandy!" Keiichi asked. He saw her standing the kitchen with her sister near the doorway. He walked over to the gentle Goddess. He noticed Bell's eyes being a little glazed over. He wasn't sure about the fear that was growing inside her. He asked in a calm tone, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. If it's Mara, she has a lot of explaining for," Skuld spoke up as she darted around the room, looking for any signs of a demon.

Keiichi saw the young Goddess in a panic. He asked, "What you are on?"

"That's I wanna know too!" Skuld gaped as she placed a hand on her chin. She tried to pin point for a trace of a demon.

"What?" Keiichi mumbled loudly.

"I want to know about this guy who was here for a couple of minutes then he poof was gone!"

Belldandy looked at her little sister and said, "Well as now . . .there isn't any!"

Belldandy's statement seemed not to quell Skuld's curiosity.

Ten chi and Ayeka were walking to the library. The first day Ayeka was walking with a cane. She had to rest wounded leg, yet Ryoko felt a personal debt to the princess. She saw the pain Ayeka had went through. Ryoko personally helped Ayeka with walking and was a person footman. One day it came to the breaking point. Ryoko loved to goof off. She had homework to finish for Miss Urd's class. Then, there was her favorite show, Wild Samurai lone Journey five that she had been down loading off a site on Wahsu's PC. These plans were perfected to her liking.

Ayeka had other idea. She wanted Ryoko to her her books from her room. Then, there was the pain medicine in the bathroom. Ayeka was using the painkillers only the pain got out of hand. She could withstand so much in a long period for time. She was managing it as best as she could.

Then, there was the housework. Ayeka and Ryoko did their best to avoid the dreaded house keeping. Ayeka was suppose set up the table. She was feeling like shoving the blessed chore to Ryoko. She decided to skip the questioned thing and read the newspaper. She sat the sofa. When it came time to set up the table for dinner. Ayeka protested at the now shocked Ryoko. She heard the princess telling Washu, that she wasn't going to do it all.

Ryoko had cornered Ayeka in the living room. Ayeka was now lying on the sofa after Ryoko got up and marched over to Washu to see what was going on. She was going to pay for doing her work. Ryoko was usually harsh to Ayeka, had to be gentle. Hurting the still injured Ayeka could make a set back in recovery. Ryoko swallowed more than just her pride as she said calmly, "Ayeka!"

"What?" Ayeka pouted as she felt Ryoko's prodding. The princess of Juri was going to be graceful. What Ayeka thought and how she acted were two subjects all together. "Do you want anything?"

Ryoko was blunt as she said, "Yea, in a way!"

"You?" Ayeka glanced at Ryoko with a questioning stare.

"Did you do the table set up for supper?"

"Why?" Ryoko said. She thought Ayeka's stubborn streak. If there were away to break away it would just be nice. It might help in Ayeka's improvement. "We work as a team!"

"We work as a team?" Ayeka asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yea, news flash here. We have been working like that since we came here!" Then, Ryoko sucked at her teeth. "Even before we came. We worked in a sort of a team!"

Ryoko was getting hot under the collar.

Ayeka asked in a pointed question, "Are you sure?"

"Yea," Ryoko yipped as she threw her hands up. "Sometimes I didn't pull my weight, but at the end I helped!"

It made Ayeka think at first. Then, she felt stupid. Why was Ryoko pulling her plans apart? "Listen, you are wanted and needed in this place. I know it's rough. In the long run, Sasami and the others would like to you walk again," Ryoko, said as she reached over to pat Ayeka on the shoulder.

It was a few minutes before Ayeka noticed or realized. Ryoko for all the bricking, and back stabbing insults brought the bratty princess to her senses with gentlest of words.

Now she walked through the streets of a small town. She used a cane. Tenchi stopped in front of a store window. He was looking for a new direction for his drawings. He drew pictures off and on. He stood with Ayeka at his side. Ayeka asked, "Are you studying this building?"

"Yea," Tenchi nodded. It was a guess on Ayeka's part. "You must have read my mind!"

"It was a stab in the dark," Ayeka smiled.

The two exchanged a laugh and a smile. Tenchi went to back to his viewing. There was a bond between Tenchi and Ayeka. They stood in the quiet of friendship.

Nick had received a box in the mail. He was surprised when he read the address label was from Canada. It was post marked from his hometown. He opened it before he and Nat went to work as they sat in the library. In the box against the packing foam were three green glass vases. Resting on top was medium sized card. Nick read the card as Nat noticed the look on Nick's eyes. She asked, "Where are those from?"

"Would you believe those are from Jenette!" Nick said as she studied them with a puzzled glance.

"Jenette?" Nat asked. She remembered Nick's for real love and hate.

At the end of Jenette's life had fallen in love with a mortal who had a dark past. He was killed for the secret. In turn Jenette was hunted down for the same secret after the man told her the story. Nick had to stop her from saving another life in her attempt of losing hers. Were these vases the last traces of a former life?

Nat said, "Its like her to leave a mysterious gift!"

"Maybe!"

Then, Natalie noticed the card. Then, she questioned her husband, and "What does the card say?"

"Remember the past, the present and the future!" Nick said as he read off the card. The two looked at each other with a strange glance. Nick placed the box on the table as he tried to figure the meaning of what Jenette was telling him.

Nat believed that Jenette never left Nick. She felt the past was long gone for the most part. Yet, the future was easy and delicate to grow like a flower. What was the present for? It was up to the young members of Friends of America to deicide.

Nick gave a wide eye glance at Nat. She puckered a concert of her mouth and sucked at her teeth. "Let me show the box to Lacriox. He might know what Jenette was saying on the card," Nick said, as he knew about his first father's ties with his former lover's past.

Kagato was growing restless. He wanted the sword of Juri and the power behind the sword. He hungered for it. This power was payback of hurting Tsugaru. The young man was back to normal. He spent three days in the hospital where he was given instant care from Terri. He was still weak yet; he didn't need the breathing treatments like some of the others. The E/R staff caught the infection before it had a chance to spread.

Tsugaru was strong from the rest. He didn't want to take any risks. The memories of the attack still burned in his soul.

Yugi felt totally useless. She had spied at a safe distance Sasami. She yearned to see her only and true friend. Being cut off from Sasami drove Yugi crazy. She knew from Hotsuma about the night where Tsugaru was attacked but not at Tenchi's hands. He didn't want to leave Tsugaru behind. It was the most frightening feeling he sensed off of another living creature in a long time.

Matiro walked up to Kagato and glanced over to his brooding eyes. She was itching for some excitement. She had some idea of what could happen to her if she ran up against the monster that roamed the outside words.

Kagato glared at Matora and asked on his deep rough voice, "What is it you want?"

Her eyes narrowed in evil fun. She smiled, as she sighed, "Nothing I'm just bored."

The shadow of her creator was board.

Kagato curled his upper lip a little. He didn't want to hear any stifle from anyone in the group. He said, "Listen. I have seen what happened to Tsugaru. We nearly lost him. Both Yugi and myself don't want any more casualties. The time for the power will come soon!"

"The time is only a thing I don't have to spare!" Matora said.

"What's this?" Yugi appeared out of nowhere. She had an idea where they were see if Sasami could be kidnapped, once again. Yugi said, "I would not be in a hurry. We have to come up with a plan!"

Kagato wondered about this so-called plan Yugi had up her sleeve.

Rio was growing stronger as she stayed at home for a week. Between the home visits of the nurses, Terri and the senshi, Rio was now able to walk, eat and get out of bed. She was still not allowed to go outside just yet. She was given a series of shots and pills by Terri to keep the illness at bay. Serena and the others were looking over Rio's temporary blindness. She was helped when she needed it.

Seiya and his brothers stopped over to see how Rio was doing. He saw Rio strung on the sofa. She had her last treatment of the day. She was listening to an old radio show with Reenie, Hotura and Lita. The three other girls were sitting on the floor. They were laughing as they listened.

An older woman came on the radio and cried out, "Policeman!"

Then, old man did the same to annoy the older woman, "Policemen!"

Finally a baby began to cry as an addition to the old man and older woman calls for an officer of the law.

Hotura asked as she curled up her legs, "What happened to the man who held the baby in the beginning of the show?"

"He got the tickets for the bus!" Lita said.

There was a knock on the front door. Lita stood up from the floor. She quietly padded over to the door. She peeked in the peephole to see who was outside. She fumbled for the door lock. After she unlocked the door, Lita said, "Hi!"

The Three lights said in unison, "Hi!"

"Who is it?" Serena's voice asked form the hallway. Serena heard Lita answering the door.

Lita said loudly, "It's the Three lights!"

Rio was into the side effects of sleep from the medication that Terri had given to her before seven in the evening. She sat on the sofa. Seiya walked up to Rio. He asked her, "Hey, how are you?"

"I'm getting better?" Rio smiled.

Seiya knelt down to let Rio feel his face. He took her hands in his to guide them up his cheeks. He said, "I'm happy!"

Her fingers were raised to touch his cheek. Rio forced her smile on her lips to stay. She said, "Seiya?"

"Let me tell you what happened at school," he knew if he and the others kept things light and cheerful, Rio could get better faster.

"Did you pass the test in math class? I knew Taiki has been tutoring you like mad!"

"All I can say is that I was sweating bullets although the tests!" Seiya chuckled.

Ami entered the room. She noticed the Seiya talking to Rio as he sat in front of her. Ami was going to tell Rio it was time for bed. When Ami came up to the sofa, she said, "Rio it's time!"

"Oh," Rio sighed. "I was wondering about my bed time. The medicine makes my sleepy!"

"Can you stand up?" Taiki asked. He and Yaten were now walking up to the sofa. They didn't want to push Rio. She was trying to take things easy. The girls helped with daily life.

Rio slowly stood up from the sofa. The virus was still there. Her body was fight with every ounce of her being. She was wobbly on her feet as she began to tremble. It felt like the rug was pulled from under her. When she took a step, Rio fell forward. In a rapid response, Seiya stood up with his hands held out.

Rio felt hands wrapping themselves around her shoulders. He wasn't going to let her go. He moved his one hand down to her waist as he said, "Gotta ya!"

"I'd!" Rio gasped. She felt Seiya picking her up.

"It's all right. I'm here!" he said softly.

Ami and the other two Lights noticed what had happened to Rio. She hoped Rio was getting stronger. Was this a set back? "Rio was getting better?" Ami asked her self. "What is causing it?"

Rio sensed a shift in Ami's attitude. She said, "Listen to me, Ami. . .I'm tougher than I look. Just give a little time!"

Seiya held Rio in his arms. He was told Rio that he was taking her to her bedroom. Rio murmured her nightly prayers. Seiya remembered how Rio kept a firm hold on her faith. Remaining quiet, Seiya walked down the hall. Taiki, Ami and Yaten followed Seiya. Seiya tired not to let his anger show. He was gentle to Rio. Rio murmured, "Amen!"

Taiki and Ami were talk about Rio's progress. Ami said, "Everyone is hoping for a miracle. I see little traces of Rio's past in the present. . .I'm not sure."

Rio raised her right hand to her eyes. She pressed it hard against her eyes. She felt tired, wore out. She sighed, "I'm just one person!"

She felt like she was standing in front of a large hill.

Taiki asked, "Despite you are a princess and Senshi, Ami."

"Then, why did I detected the idea of Rio's fate slipping!"

"My not hers . . .can't describe what I am feeling, now," Ami said. She turned to Taiki with a tear in her eye. She held out her arms, asking for a hug form Taiki. Without saying another word, Taiki took Ami in an embrace.

Alex and Devon were trying figure out who would be the next target for the mysterious attackers. The séances following the attack seemed like to belong from another world. Devon had to take a break. The real spirit of Devon was going to break apart of he didn't slow down. He sat on a large winged-back leather chair in Alex's library. He had a small notebook on his left hand. He had heard whispered form outside sources about he person who behind everything. The person was human. It puzzled Devon as he stared at the notebook. He heard footsteps Alex was coming form the kitchen. He carried a pair of wine glasses filled with blood. He came up to Devon's chair. Devon looked up form his reading. He moved his eyes to the glasses. The coppery odor sharpened his senses. Alex lowered on of hands in an offering to Devon. He asked, "Thirsty?"

"A little," Devon sighed. He closed the notebook and placed it on a table, which sat between the two chairs. Alex gave one of the glasses with a sad smile. Devon saw the heart at of Alex's soul. He asked, "You thinking of Rio aren't you?"

"Yea," Alex said as he back to the second chair. He sat down in the chair, carefully not spilling a drop of cow blood from his glass. He looked at the antiquated painting of a young horse rider. It hung over the fireplace. He raised the glass up to his lips. He said before taking a sip, "I have only one for her. She might be a mortal. Then, I see it. She holds a key to real entirety. Her soul sings. It seems to sings daily and never will quit."

"That's everyone!" Devon said, holding up his glass in mid air as if to toast the young girl. Then, he saw a flash of white light. Al stepped out of the light. He had concerned gaze in his eyes.

"Sam!" Al said. This was a sign to Devon the future was changing.

"I need the phone," Devon said. He pointed to the phone, sitting on the desk near the far wall. Devon stood up and walked to the desk.

"Sure!" Alex said. He excused himself as he stood up. He quickly walked out of the room. He glanced his watch. It was going four in the morning. It would be dawn soon. Devon made a phone call to his own house. He said as the answering machine came on, "Hey. . .what's going on?"

Al was now showing up in full as he stood next to the desk. He held his com-link as it began to squeal. He tapped a few keys. He appeared to be in an anxious mood. "Yes?" Devon said as he glanced at Al.

Al said when he looked at Devon, "I have been talking it over with Ziggy. I have some bad news!"

"What?" Devon questioned Al. Sam's gut feelings were starting break through into the soul of his host. When Sam's feelings were a sign to the person that Sam was a strong willed man.

Al glanced at Devon, then at the com-link. He said, "It's about Rio!"

"Yea. Is there a problem?" Devon voice sounded soft, almost like the same tone as Lacriox voice.

"Rio is struggling on daily basis. The medicine is powerful, yet virus that Rio is carrying must have a stuborn streak. The only thing the virus doesn't have is a strong will to live!"

"Don't I know it!" Devon smiled. He believed when he saw Rio's iron clad will when Devon would visit her at the hospital. "She isn't taking the virus laying down!"

Al tracked Rio's progress form the com-link. He had no idea about Rio wanting to live. He never experienced anyone like Rio. Little by little Rio grew strong. She was still the wild child. She wasn't letting blindness stop her.

"That was bad!" Al smirked. He tried to humor Sam's bad sense of wording.

"Skip it. . .Rio?" Sam huffed and rolled his eyes.

"She has a fifty-fifty chance of. . ."

Leaving Sam in the dark was one of Al's many trails. Devon began to drum his fingers on his left hand onto the desk as his right eyebrow shot up in curious.

"She. . .will. . ." Al said slowly as he tapped a few more keys on the com-link. He had to find out what Ziggy had in store.

"She will be able to see? Terri had been working on taking off that string. He is using up his spare time on taking care of Rio!"

"It sounds like he feels needed to help her get her sight back!"

"Yea, they are best friend way back. Some day that the group from London is more like a family than just friends."

The computer squealed telling Al it had another bit of information. Al glanced at the com-link. Al's face's face was drawn up with dread. He had to read the outlook twice before saying to Devon, "Rio may take a turn for the worst!"

"The worst . . .for her sight?" Devon asked as he mind reached with idea of Rio's sight being lost.

"Maybe . . .I'm not sure. Let me get back you on that! It too fuzzy right now!"

"Great!" Devon rolled his eyes as he winced.

"Look . . .Rio is strong. But, Ziggy is still trying to get the information as she gets in. With the patient's rights of private stuff, its more a legal headache than anything else," Al said as he began to starch his head.

Devon sighed as he told Al to find as soon as he could. Then, Al took off as Devon went back to his chair. Thinking of the odds when Rio was supposable getting better were mind numbing.

There was much too do before Easter. There was egg hunting that the little ones needed to do. There was finding the very best in finery for Easter morning. One week wasn't long enough. Serena and Ayeka were talking on the phone about taking a trip to a local mall to get some shopping in. The idea of Rio was brought up. Ayeka asked, "What about Rio?"

"I have talked it over with Miss Urd at the school and Jakten on the phone. They both agreed if Rio got tired. Then we can rent a wheel chair," Serena said.

"Is Dusty pushing Rio around? He's still pretty weak, " Ayeka pointed out the fact of Dusty's condition. Despite his speedy recovery, he was still under the whether from his loss of blood. "He can't be wheeling her through out the mall!"

"No. . .I think we got a few persons who are willing to fill in that department!" Serena giggled. She looked down to at her legs. Chibi-chibi was moving a toy car up one of Serena's legs. Serena quickly placed a hand up to her knee to stop Chibi-chibi from putting tire tracks on her legs. She went back to talking to Ayeka on the phone. "I know Rio is getting stronger each day. So, we have to keep on her progress."

"O.K. I'm going to call up Miss Urd about you and the others from you coming to the mall!" Ayeka said.

"Great!" Serena nearly giggled. She began to at her lower lip.

Chibi-chibi stopped her playing. She was pretending to be driving up a hill. Now with Serena's hand as a roadblock, she had nowhere to go. She began to say, "Beep. . .beep!"

Ayeka heard Chibi-chibi's noises coming from the receiver. She asked, "What's that?"

Serena shifted a giggle as she said; "Chibi-chibi is using me as a road. That's all!"

"Uh?" Ayeka gasped.

"Listen I'll explain to you later!" Serena said. Then she raised her hand to make a grab for the toy car. Chibi-chibi caught on instantly. She moved the toy car onto Serena's hand.

Hotura entered the room. She noticed the little act of the tiniest sailor Senshi. She padded over to the two, "There you are!" Hotura said.

"Chili-beep!" Chibi-chibi squealed.

Hotura squatted next to Chibi-chibi. She knew that Chibi-chibi needed to get washed up for dinner. Chibi-chibi felt another present. She looked up at Hotura. Hotura reached out to take Chibi-chibi by the shoulder. Chibi-chibi picked up the toy car. She said, "Looked!"

Hotura said as she looked down, "That's a car!"

"Beep-beep!" Chibi-chibi said.

"That's what the horn sounds like!" Hotura nodded. Then, she held out the other hand to take the car. "It's time for supper!"

Serena told Ayeka that she would talk to her later. Hotura stood up as Chibi-chibi did the same. The littlest Senshi bolted out of the room as she squealed, "Yummy!"

"Yea!" Serena added with a big grin as she hung up the phone.

Ayeka and Sasami were in the living room of their house. Sasami was playing her hand held video game. Thorough the noise of the video game Ayeka could still head the phone buzzing. She was sitting on the sofa. Ayeka stood up, walk over to the phone table. She picked up the receiver. She said, "Maksi's house!"

A cheerful voice said on the other end, "Hi, it's me, Belldandy. You want to get the mall?"

"The mall," Ayeka said.

"It's a little perk, my sister, Urd and I were hoping to hear from you. Did you call Serena?" Belldandy said.

"Yea, we had a talk about everything, we had agreed Rio is going to use a wheel chair. She is getting stronger. I just want to make her comfortable."

"That's a good idea. We have a plan for kids as well.

"A plan?" Ayeka asked.

The door opened from the kitchen and Washu, Tenchi and Abby walked into the living room. Ayeka turned to see the three talking off their shoes and jackets. Tenchi was trying wonder why Yugi or Kagato didn't come back after the attack on Tsuguaru. It had been at three weeks. Things were a little too quiet. "I never been to a church," Tenchi said as he hung up his jacket. "My grandfather is a shrine keeper."

Abby had her coat lying across her left arm. She waited for her turn. She asked as she placed her jacket on a hook "Will you be a shrine keeper?"

"I have a few years of training. Then, an apprenticeship. I think my grandfather will help!" Tenchi said as he carefully took time on his explanation.

"Hi, Ayeka!" Abby said as she noticed the Jurian princess standing next to the phone table. Abby followed Tenchi as she hung up her coat. She walked over to the TV. Sasami had turned off the game. Her knees were pulled up to her chin. Abby sat down next to Sasami. "What's up?" Sasami asked.

"Nothing . . .a few quizzes!" Abby shrugged.

"Yea, I have the same sort thing. I got a new dress for Easter. When is church?" Sasami said as she perked up.

"At eight-thirty!"

Tenchi and Washu walked over to where Ayeka stood. They waited for her to get off the phone. When Ayeka finished her phone conversation, She hung up the phone and found Tenchi and Washu standing in front of her. "What are you talking about?" Tenchi asked.

"That was Belldandy. She and her sisters have everything ready for the trip to the mall!"

"That's one thing we all need. . .a break from everyone!" Washu said.

Then, there was a patter if footsteps continued in the living room form the kitchen. Abby and Sasami turned their heard towards the archway leading to the kitchen. Ryo-oh-ki hopped into the room. The little cabbot saw Sasami and Abby as it made its way to them. Ryo-oh-ki said, "Meow!"

"Hi. . .Ryo-oh-ki!" Abby said, holding out her left hand. She was letting Ryo-oh-ki smell her fingers.

"There is one thing I have to ask you!" Sasami smiled with a giggle.

"What?" Abby smiled back.

"Can we eat all the chocolate we can get?" Sasami giggled a little louder as she shot a sly glance at Abby.

At first Abby was surprised and knew that Sasami never had any experience of Easter. Sasami and her sister were raised on the planet of Juri. Abby realized Sasami was asking a simple question. Smiling Abby, said, "Yea. I don't how much you'll get. . .but, you can eat as much as you want!"

"Meow!" Ryo-oh-ki said as she leaned her face. Her nosed twitched a little. Abby took one of her fingers to stroke Ryo-oh-ki's nose.

Abby asked as she ran her finger up one of Ryo-oh-ki's ears, "Are you going to get dressed up?"

"Yea!" Sasami nodded.

Ayeka and Washu were going to Washu's lab. They were to check out the reason why Yugi or Kagato haven't shown up. They went to the dinning room table. They had some idea when Tsugarau was attacked. They would pull back their forces when they were pushed, but by who. "I know Yugi would go back to her hiding place to lick her wounds," Washu said.

Tenchi and Ayeka grabbed a couple of chairs. Ayeka said as she faced Washu, "No Kagato. He can't stay still for a minute. She felt the dark scientist wasn't going to slow done for anything to his hands on the sword of Juri.

"His only wish is to destroy your family with the use if Tenchi's sword!" Washu warned with a way glance.

Ayeka shuttered at the mere thought of her family being wiped out by a mad man. "Yet, Yugi is a little more caution one!" Washu nodded. She remembered how Yugi drew Sasami away from the attack in the Maski home and shrine. Sasami was the only one who befriended the troubled girl from the same home planet as herself. Yugi had to keep this special girl from the dangers of her distorted force.

"How she figures in with Kagato?" Tenchi asked.

"I am not sure. Yet, if Tsugarau was hurt? Kagato might take a note from her and wait!" Washu uttered.

Nick and Nat were trying to keep their fingers crossed in their hearts. Terri was on a break through. He was ion his way home as he stopped in at Nat's office. Terri saw Nick and Nat sitting at Nat's desk. The door was opened as he knocked on the door. Nat was talking to Nick. Nick said, "There is no more out breaks of people who were attacked!"

He had a séance the calm before the storm.

"At last . . . there is peace!" Nat sighed. She had enough of darkness trying to smother out the light of the purity innocent.

"I can join in this talk?" Terri asked as he stood in the doorway.

Nat and Nick looked in the direction of the doorway. Nat asked, "Terri, why are you here?"

Nick had a question as he said, " How is Rio?"

"There is a ray of hope for Rio!" Terri smiled.

The two looked at Terri. He remained calm at the news. He knew there was a huge hurdle in Rio's full recovery. The sticky string, which covered Rio's eyes, was nearly and completely off. Her health was coming back as well. The main concern was Rio's sight. Was her sight could be fixable. He entered the room as he said, "There is a sixty-forty change of Rio getting her sight back."

"Are you pulling my leg?" Nat uttered with a little wide-eyed glance at Terri.

"No, everyone knew that the chances were slim," Terri shook his head.

"Rio had the slimmest of changes and ran with it!" Nick said.

"It's like her. That's her style. Rio is a wild child. I have no idea of the come out is. An other series of shots then, I can remove those last bits!"

"Are you going to keep this a secret?" Nick asked. He and Nat exchanged hopeful glances. Rio had been through a nightmare and a half. Everyone had helped Rio through a long dark path. Nick threw in a curve ball, "Does Rio have any back up plans?"

"I talked it over with both of Rio's uncles and she might leave here. There is a school in Frankfort that is known the world over for teaching the blind. They would have to start from the beginning!"

There was a nerve struck. Rio was use to her new home and extended family. She had a change to do well. For other that was taken away when Rio was attacked. Nick sighed as he raised his fingers to rub a spot on his forehead, "Rio is going to have a time. She is just getting over the first shock her illness and now this!"

Dropping his fingers, Nick shook his head.

"I will help Rio cross that bring when the time comes, I'll pray she choose the right path!" Terri said.

The Goddesses were talking to Kiyone, Stephanie and Hotura. The two groups, London and Tokyo were standing front of the high school, waiting for the mini-bus to pick them up. The day was warming up into a spring morning. It was a welcomed relief from the dark damp. "The service at Easter will be memorable, at the church. They are going to a have a bell group!" Stephanie said.

"What kind of music do they play?" Sasami asked as she turned to face Stephanie. She was listening to the Easter story.

"They usually play hymns. Rio and me had heard them played dozens of times at different times of the year!"

"Candy. . .candy!" Chibi-chibi started to chant in a girlish squeal. She was getting board with standing, waiting for the bus. She stood next to Ami and Lita. Like all three years olds, Chibi-chibi had a short attention span. She began to dance around Ami and Setsuna. Ami heard the clamor. She squatted down to see what Chibi-chibi wanted. "Are you getting antsy?" Ami asked with a chuckle.

"Candy. . .candy!" Chibi-chibi uttered as she held out her hands in the shape of a cup.

"She can't wait for the Easter bunny!" Allen laughed gently. He stood near Ami. He reached over to pat Chibi-chibi on the head.

"That's what the others were talking about?" Ami said.

Chibi-chibi raised both hands up to Allen's on her head. She smiled as she pulled at Allen's hand. "Easter bunny!" she squealed.

Steve and Take were talking to Keiichi about the new motorbikes. There was a new line that was coming out in the near future. Steve loved his bike. To find another person with the same love was a stroke of luck. Taiki loved the designs of some bikes. He had skills, good enough to design a bike. Steve said, "Listen. The motor on this new bike is the greatest. All hand contracted."

"That must be a great piece of machinery. I know there are a small handful of cards in which they are done in the same way!" Taiki said.

"Rare things like the hand constructed motor are going to the last than normal done by a factory," Keiichi nodded. Then, he raised his hands up to his left ear. He was scratching his ear lobe. "I wonder of it takes a year to make a motor?"

"No. . .Six months!" Steve shrugged.

There was a beeping noises coming from the street. Rio was the first one to hear it. Since Rio was blind, yet she made up the loss with her other senses. They doubled in their sensitive. She stood between Dusty and Rei. It was the bus coming up the street. Rio took the cane she was using and tapped the end of it on the ground. It was her signal to Dusty the bus was coming. Dusty asked, when he heard Rio saying to Rei, "Are you excited!"

"Yes, Uncle Zigfield had sent me a dress. I asked Lita what it looked like!" Rio smiled. She felt Dusty's arm wrapping itself around her shoulders.

"Yea . . .it looks great. It's a dark rose with an ivory collar," Rei added in a cheerful tone.

"I could see it!" Rio smiled, as she was able to piece the things in which she heard, felt and smelt in what her mind's eye took in. She had a strong imagining. She was a mystic keeper of dreams.

"Here it comes!" Reenie yipped in an excited time as she leapt into the air. At the same time, she punched the air with her right fist.

"Reenie!" Hotura giggled. She placed her left hand up to her lips in a half hidden pose.

Belldandy said to Ryoko and Charlie, "I'm going to see what type of earrings I can get for my dress!"

A large van rolled to a stop in front of the group. The group still chatted as they climbed in the van.

The group went shopping in the noisy happiness of the mall. It seemed like years ago since the attack such innocent lives.

Dusty took Rio to the different stores that she loved. He pushed her around in a wheel chair. She scolded him when she is could stay in one for a long time. Seiya over the two loves nipping at each other heels. He knew Rio was one for not having a fuss made over her. Seiya had to step in before Rio talked herself out of any kind of aid. He walked over to the visitor's kayos. Rio was leading against Dusty. He guided her to the kayos. She had no idea Seiya was going to help the pair off them.

"You can still have fun. I just want to you be not running into the wall," Dusty teased a little.

"Why I don't help?" Seiya asked. He was standing next to the couple.

Rio asked as she began to tap her came in a hunt for Seiya's feet. "Seiya, are you willing to push this grump around?" Dusty asked Seiya.

"Why sure!" Seiya said as reached over to give a squeeze to Rio's shoulder.

"Seiya?" Rio asked. She could tell it was him form his scent. He used plain white soap and a spicy facial wash. He had no idea that Rio could really on her senses so quickly.

"Yea. She has a sharp set of reflexes!" Seiya chuckled a little.

"I'll be fine!" Rio uttered her statement twice.

"You are too stubborn. Besides Terri wants you to rest as much as possible," Seiya pointed out in a gentle poke at Rio's attitude.

"O.K.. . .king's x!" Rio snorted as she folded her arms over her chest.

"King's x?" Dusty asked. He was confused. He was going to see if Seiya was going to help or not with Rio.

"Yea. . .Seiya doesn't play fair!" Rio shook her head. She heard the two laughing at the last minute. She had to tell them she would to use the wheel chair.

"That's good! You just tell me where go to in the mall!" Seiya said.

Sasami and Skuld were in a jewelry store. They glanced at the earrings display. They had a little bit of money saved. They were to have some fun. Skuld picked up a pair of tiny gold squares, which dangled in a dazzling shower of light. It was a thing Urd could bought for herself. Skuld was her own Goddess. She had her own set of rules to live by. Yet, she wasn't scared to experiment. Sasami noticed Skuld glanced over the earrings. Sasami knew Skuld was a normal enough looking girl. "Hey Skuld, are you getting those?" Sasami asked in her curiously.

"Maybe . . .is it me?" Skuld asked. She gave the card a shake. The earrings jerked and caught the light. She glanced at the were necklaces on the wall as she said, "They kind of nice. What kind of necklace can I get?"

"How much do you have to spend?"

"Fifteen dollars and those earrings are seven –fifty," Skuld said as he flipped the card over pt see how much the earrings were.

"That's about half of you money!"

"Sasami. . .Skuld. . .we have been looking for you!" a voice huffed over the girls' head.

Skuld shifted her glance to see Urd and Belldandy standing behind them. Skuld grumbled a little, "Oh, it's you. . .Urd. Hey sis!"

"What are you looking for?" Belldandy asked in her gentle tone of voice.

"These . . ." Sasami said. Then, she pointed to the card.

The two older Goddesses peered over their little sister's head to glance at the card. Urd instantly feel in love with the pair. Belldandy thought they were nice, but her style. Urd squealed as she leaned forward to snatch up the pair, from the display rack, "Hey, what a sweet pair of earrings!"

She had a little bit of a goofy expression on her face as Skuld bent down a tiny bit to get out her sister's way. Watching Skuld crutch her shoulders down to avoid her oldest sister's grabbing fingers, Belldandy smiled," They are so normal…I am wishing everything went back to normal."

The gentle goddess's voice asking for a simple request felt dream, which was heard in the dream edge light and mists of the fair folk. Merlin, Knab and Jereth stood in the woods, which connected Arcadia to Earth. There were fractions, which drove the three parts on many during periods of their existence. They were now at a crossroads. They heard the gentle voice. "This is a dark time for all," Merlin said. He slowly blind as his mind could witness a weak sight of vision.

"The child is strong!" Jereth said.

"Her. . .the one who is blind. She is in grave danger or not?" Knab asked. She watched the sky through the tree bows. She wondered about Rio, Tenchi or even Skuld. From they came come and ended up in such a small town like Salem.

"She is full of surprises with her friends that one has. They pulled her out of illness. The others had each other to guide through the dark times. It seemed like the more compassion is the more there is a chance of hope!" a voice said. A flash of blue light, which had been floating around the three like sparkles of lights, it could have been a fairie who had spoken to them in a sweet and airy voice.

"Frick?" Knab asked as she glanced around.

"No. . .Willow Green!" the voice said.

Knab wasn't buying into the fakery. She wanted to know if was Frick or not. Then, Merlin questioned the voice, "Please, show yourself!"

The flashes of light began to turn into a swirl of mist. It took shape as a thin human child. It bowed into the royal group. It said, "I'm sorry . . .your highnesses. I have been this vision of the girl who has power heal the dreams of others. She is blind. Then, a strange dark fog takes her way. Never to return to the ones who loved her!"

The high ranking in their power glanced each other slowly. "Even it seems the smallest of the fair folk had their dark presents shadowing the poor child's future!" Merlin said in a quiet voice.

Easter was usually a joyful holiday. The egg hunts were hold in the early morning light. Tenchi's house, Sasami and Ryo-oh-ki were trying to find the many hidden treats scattered in the living room. Ryoko and Ayeka were reading the newspaper in the kitchen. Washu was busy with fixing the light eggs outside on the porch. Kiyone and Mihoshi were getting ready for church. Ayeka felt something softly breathing against her feet. She looked down at her feet. It was Ryo-oh-ki sniffing around the sofa. "Hey. Ryo-oh-ki!" she said.

"Meow!" Ryo-oh-ki said without looking at up Ayeka.

Sasami squealed as she raised her hands up in the air, "Found one!"

Ayeka asked, "You're looking for one!"

"Meow!" Ryo-oh-ki said.

Washu entered the living room from the front doors as they slowly opened. She had a few leaves strewn in her hair. There was a sour, yet relieved glare on her face. "They're up!" she huffed.

"Are you aright?" Ryoko asked, as she looked up form her newspaper.

"To a point! I had to wrestle with the bushes on one side of the porch," Washu said a she reached coup to the spot where the leaves were resting in her hair. The leaves were resenting, were snatched out of her hair, she huffed.

"There is a point to this?" Kiyone asked. She and Mihoshi entered the room. They were wearing their newly bought Easter dresses. She noticed Washu's face.

"I fixed the egg lights and the reason why they didn't light up was the wiring was messed into a large knot."

Tenchi asked a little puzzled as he turned to face Washu, "How does that effect the lights?"

"I'm still figuring it out!"

"Oh, wow! I found the chocolate rabbit!" Sasami squealed loudly which seemed to interpreted the dissection. The others turned to see Sasami crawling out form the skirt of the phone table. She was a dragging a small whicker basket. "I have the biggest egg!" she looked up at Ayeka.

"Tenchi.. I would found another!" Sasami said to Tenchi.

"You were looking for something else!" Tenchi asked as he looked down at Sasami who was now sitting on the floor.

"Meow!" Ryo-oh-ki squeaked.

Washu sighed as she raised hand to her soaked bangs. She pulled them away form her forehead. "I have one thing to ask of you guys!"

The leaves were gently pulled away from her hair. "Please. . .if you have any eggs. Please eat them before I see them," she huffed.

She was greeted with an answered glance from everyone in the room, which surprised her. The others said, "Fine!"

The Senshi house, Serena was helping Rio with her hair washing. The strings, which were covering Rio's eyes, were nearly gone. There was the bustle of a Sunday morning. Reenie and Hotura helping Serena. There were in the kitchen. Serena and the others were on the go with the treatments and appointments. Yet, they were impressed by Rio's will to live. She was getting stronger with each day.

The radio was playing in the kitchen while the others were waiting in the dinning room. Lita had fixed an extra special breakfast. Setsuna, Mina and Ami were in the dinning room, as they read the paper. Rei had Chibi-chibi outside in the back yard searching for Easter eggs. Michuri and Huruka were getting dressed for Easter service.

"Now, with your hair washed, Ami had to fix your bandages!" Serena said, her hand moved thorough the soapy mane of Rio's hair.

"After next week, no more bandages, shots or blood tests," Rio sighed. She anxiously waited for a month. Terri had broken the strains to the point of going no further. The new situation was coming to a crossroads; it was calling for the delicate skills of an eye surgeon. Terri had made agreements for the following week for a special operation to remove the last bits. There were going to be tests on Rio's eyes to see of she were blind or not.

"What are you going to do if you are blind?" Hotura asked Rio. She with the rest of her friends wanted to know if Rio was going to be able to see once again.

"If the stars are going to shine. Then, let it be!" was Rio's answer. She was hoping to hear her results yet; she was able to face the otherwise daunting task of losing her slight.

The phone rang. Reenie told Serena, she was going to answer it. Reenie was sitting at the bench near the dinning room. She walked into the kitchen phone. She pulled herself up on the bar stool near the nook. The phone was in its third ring when Reenie picked it up. She asked, "Hello?"

"Hello! Is Rio there?" a voice asked. It sounded British as the phone line crackled with static.

"Yea. . .she's getting her hair washed!" Reenie said. "She. . ."

"Who is it?" Ami asked as she entered the kitchen.

Reenie turned to see Ami walking over to the breakfast nook. She was still dressed in her robe. Reenie told the person on the phone to hold. She placed a hand of the reliever as she said, "It's someone for Rio! It sounds like it's long distance!"

"Who is it?" Rio asked. She felt the warm water pouting over her head.

"Let me find out!" Reenie said. She removed her hand form the receiver hand asked, "Who are you?"

The voice came back with a Coney air, "Tell her. I'm her Uncle Nigel!"

"Nigel? Where are you calling from?" Reenie gasped. She wondered if it was Dusty pulling her leg. "Nigel?"

"It's Nigel. Please, Reenie. . .please, place the phone up to my ear. If it's really Uncle Nigel, Then, I can tell!" Rio pleaded with homesickness in her voice.

"O.K." Reenie said.

"Reenie get the cordless from the living room!" Serena ordered gently. She knew the kitchen phone did have a long cord. It wasn't long enough to reach to the sink. Reenie told Nigel to stay there while she got the other phone.

"When was the last time you and Nigel talked?" Serena asked.

"I think it was at Christmas time!" Rio smiled.

"Who is your Uncle Nigel?" Hotura asked. She and the others outside of the London group's family relationships knew about it.

"He's not really my uncle," Rio said. She had to smile, no matter where Rio was. Her Uncle Nigel would write or call her. "He's my Uncle Zigfield's best friend. Despite the miles that keeps them apart!"

"What?" Hotura and Serena asked together.

"Uncle Nigel is a photographic and goes all over the world!"

"So, he calls you!" Serena asked. Then, she heard Reenie running towards the kitchen.

Reenie said as she held the phone in her hands, "Here's the phone."

"Thanks!" Rio said as Serena quickly raised Rio's hair. She felt a towel going around her head. She was helped into a sitting pose. She felt the phone being gently pushed against her left ear. She uttered a happy voice, "Hi, uncle Nigel!"

"Oy, little fire cracker!" the familiar voice said. "How are you doing?"

Rio wanted to tell her uncle Nigel that he shouldn't worry about her. She was getting stronger. "I will get my sight back. The hospital staff has been working at a ton of things!"

"Rio. . you just hang in there! I'll be sending you a little treat!" Nigel snorted. He let a sigh before saying. "Listen. I'm between flights. I'll be seeing you!"

It seemed like Rio had taken two steps back into her past. Rio knew that since she was eleven, Nigel was the best photographer in the London Times ever had. Nigel always looked after Rio either her Uncle Anthony or Figured needed a baby sitter. Two were on the call when it came time and one of them was Nigel. "Uncle. . .Nigel!" Rio whined.

"What lady?" Nigel asked.

"Did you get me anything?"

There was a snort from Nigel. Then he said, "Yep. You she two things!"

"What?"

"I can't twill you!"

"Oh," Rio groaned as she placed the receiver on the tip of her nose. She knew her Uncle Nigel had a test in patience for her. She heard him telling her that it will come to her soon.

Rio smiled, wearily as she told her Uncle goodbye.

Then, she gave the phone to Reenie. There was a minute of believe quickly which Rio drank in slowly.

Skuld was taking the last of the last blooming tulips form the garden. She was going to make a centerpiece for the Easter table. She had her breakfast with her sisters and Keiichi in the early morning. They sat in the dinning room. After breakfast, Skuld went to her room to change into her new Easter dress. She felt happy, yet when she worked on the centerpiece in the divining room, a sense of pride, then fear. This was a shadowy forbearing.

"Hey, pipsqueak!" a voice said in a tone, dripping with sunshine goodness.

"Uh?" Skuld gasped. She nearly dropped a couple of green leaves. She tuned slowly to the side and saw her oldest sister Urd, dressed in a bright red pantsuit. She wasn't sure of what was on Urd's mind.

"Happy Easter!" Urd smiled.

"Are you O.K.?" Skuld uttered loudly, shaking her head. Then, she eyed her sister in a suspicion glare.

"I'm happy, happy to see the grass and the flowers!" Urd snipped a little gleefully.

Skuld was thinking of a definite trip to the 'happy farm' for Urd was in order. She asked, "What's with the lovey dovy act all of sudden?"

"Nothing . . .Easter misty be invented by candy makers!" Urd sang out. She folded her hands in front of her chest. The glow in her eyes made Urd appeared to be a Christmas angel on a tree.

"Whatever you are babbling about, you look silly!" Skuld grumbled. She turned back to finish the centerpiece. "Candy. . .is that all you can think of for right!"

"Easter means more than treats!" a sweet voice said.

"Yea. . .the story!" Skuld sighed as reflected about the Holy one who gave his life for others.

Belldandy entered the room. She wore a plain blue dress. She carried a basket filled with not only with candies. Yet with there was something different in the basket. The gentle goddess was different as she accepted a miracles everyday. She accepted a disappearing miracle if did happen.

"Belldandy . ." Keiichi's voice was coming from the hallway. He sounded excited about the party at the senshi house.

"Coming!" Belldandy said as her head to see Keiichi wearing a suit. She was surprised to witness Keiichi was back to normal.

"Here is a gift for you!" he said as he entered the room. Pulling out a small silken bag from his jacket pocket.

"Is that for me?" Belldandy asked. She watched her boyfriend walk over to her. Holding out her hand, Belldandy looked at Keiichi with a relieved gaze.

"I hope you like!"

"I think you will."

Belldandy took the bag from Keiichi. She fingered the bag before untying it. After the bag was loosened, she poked a couple of fingers into the bag. She gently pulled out a thin white gold bracelet. Belldandy was surprised to see the simple gift. She smiled, "Is this for me?"

"I wanted to thank you!" Keiichi grinned at Belldandy. He raised a hand to scratch at his right check. "You were so good to me!"

Belldandy carefully slipped the bracelet over her left hand. She held up her wrist to look at it. The simple links of gold caught the light. She uttered loudly, "It's beautiful, but you shouldn't have!"

"I have to repay you. It's not the biggest or the…" Keiichi said.

"Hey…" Skuld gripped. She stuck her head in to see of Belldandy and Keiichi were going to church. Shocked, Skuld stomped into the room before stopping in front of the two. Her lips were drawn back tightly as she he back her words in a group of loud murmurs.

Keiichi pulled his head back. He was surprised at Skuld's swift out burst. "Whoa…whoa," he yipped; his hands were now to his chest. He began to wave them about in front of Skuld. "Bell was thanking me…"

"Yes…K gave this to me!" Belldandy raised her hand a little high to show off the new gift.

"And...if you would cool your jets. You will get yours!" Keiichi said in defiant tone. Flashing a nervous smile. Keiichi tried to smooth over a small riff standing up from Skuld.

"What?" Skuld yipped loudly. Her mouth moved to one side. Then, she narrowed her eyes. She wasn't going let Keiichi off that easily.

"Listen. I jsut wanted to be happy!"

"Belldandy is my sister! Are you going to marry her?" Skuld yipped as she pointed a finger at Keiichi.

"No…what makes you say that?" Keiichi questioned Skuld with a bug-eyed glance.

Belldandy smiled. Sage had an idea of what was in store. She said, in her gentle voice, "I have no choice when it comes to the special way that Keiichi risked his own life. I will share it with K…I'll tell you when I do walk down the isle!"

"When is that?" Skuld begged her sister in a fake sob.

"Not any time soon!" Belldandy said as she titled her head to one side.

Belldandy's words seemed to ease Skuld's fears just a little. Urd had to see what was the hold with her two sisters. When she came to the opened doorway, she snorted with a loud laugh. Think ion this is little séance, Urd quickly piece together the situation. She quipped, "The day Belldandy gets married is the day you will grow up!"

"Don't laugh!" Skuld yipped as whipped around to glare at her older sister.

At the church, the Senshi, Tenchi and the girls showed at the beginning of the first hymn. They walked up a few steps. A few members greeted them as they walked in. They spilt up in smaller groups. Rio, Ami and Lita went to the section of wooden chairs. They sat near the right side of the room. Lita helped Rio to her chair. "Hi!" Rio said as she heard the other greeting her.

"Rio. . ." a voice said in a deep America tone.

"Mister Sherwood!" Rio said as she tired to recognize who was speaking to her.

"Yep! Happy Easter! We have a surprise for you!" Mr. Sherwood said as he took a seat behind the girls. The Pittsburgh group was dressed to the nine in their Easter finery.

"What is it?" Rio's curiosity was peeked. She had no idea what her gift was.

A hand reached over to touch Rio on the shoulder. Rio jolted slightly by the stranger's touch. Then, a voice said, "Hi lass!"

Rio had to think of the person who spoke to her. She asked out of her own blindness, "Grandfather?"

"Yes. Are you alone?" the stranger asked gently.

"You know me!" Rio giggled. She reached up tot take her grandfather's hand into hers. Rio realized the man who was talking. The deep rich accented voice was truly her grandfather.

"Here is a chair for you, sir!" a young woman said. She pulled out a chair from a row of chairs for him to sit.

"Thank you!" Rio's grandfather nodded. He took the chair and pulled into up next to his granddaughter.

At the Senshi house, people were coming for a party. Serena and Rennie were getting the flowers ready for the table setting. Rio, Haruka and Rio's grandfather were in the front room. The elder of Rio's clan sat on an over stuffed chair facing Rio and Haruka. The two girls sat on the sofa. Rio's grandfather said with a soft smile, "She's a lucky lass!"

Lita stuck her head into the room and said, "She's strong!"

Rio had a memory flash in her mind. She giggled, "Not true. Remember the time I got into a chasing of the dragons."

"She is not all willing that easy to give up!" a voice said.

"I think we have company!" Rio giggled again.

Haruka looked to glance at the front door. Lita was answering it. Tenchi and Kiyone were entering the living room. Tenchi and Kiyone walked towards the sofa. Tenchi said, "Hi, Rio and Haruka!"

"Who is this?" Kiyone asked. She pointed to Rio's grandfather.

Rio smiled as she uttered loudly, "This is my grandfather William."

Rio's grandfather stood up and around walked the chair. He said a bow, "Hello! You must be more of Rio's friends!"

"Yes!" Kiyone nodded.

"Hiya...Ami, Serena!" Ryoko said as she entered the front room. She and Washu stopped in front of Ami.

"Hi…Ryoko, Miss Washu!" Ami said. Ami was walking to the computer room. She was carrying a notebook. "I have to see how many are coming!"

"Busy!" Washu asked as he had a goofy glance in her eyes. She was standing behind Ryoko. "I didn't even asked."

Rio smiled softly at the sounds of normally. Grandfather William glanced at his granddaughter. He reached to take Rio's hands into his. He asked, "How is my little girl!"

"Nothing new, grandda! I hope to see you soon!" Rio said. She felt his hands holding hers. She was very happy to family on such a special day. She wished for her sight so she could be able to see them.

The day was full of surprises.

At St. Josephine's church, Allen and Steve were waiting for the Sailor Senshi. Jamie was with the Goddesses, Keiichi and Charlie. They sat in the back rows. They watched as the other people were entered the main hall it was later in the afternoon. This was the first time that Keiichi or the Goddesses were in a western church. Charlie showed them what the hymnal and bible were at.

She heard Reenie's voice telling serene to follow her up the stairs. Hotura was waiting for Sasami and Abby to come. Dusty heard a horn beeping up the street. It was Jakten in his truck with very special passengers inside.

Dusty who was waiting outside peered at the passengers inside of the truck to Rio and her grandfather William. Dusty hoped to be with ladylove soon. He wasn't expecting the elder of Rio's father's family to show up. He was greatly surprised out of his wits. He said as the truck door opened, "Rio…Elder William!"

Grandfather William got out of the truck. He said, "young Dustin!" he smiled when he nodded slightly. He faced the groom in Rio's life.

"Grandfather?" Rio asked as she jerked her head quickly. She tried to figure out who was talking to her grandfather.

"Yes, lass!" Grandfather William said. "What is that you want?"

"Is Dusty with you. If he is…I would like to talk to him!"

"Rio…the only thing that is stopping her and yourself is I!" Grandfather William teased.

"Oh, man!" Rio huffed. It seemed like all time before Rio could say anything to her boyfriend.

"Besides school!" Dusty uttered, as he felt self-conscious. "I was wounded."

"I know that lad!" Grandfather William nodded with a flash of concern. "I would like to hear about how do you feel?"

"Better!"

"Good! Will be talking about other things, son!" Grandfather William said.

Dusty wasn't entirely in the dark when it came to Rio. He hoped to see her. He loved her beyond the call of duty. He watched as Jakten helped Rio out of the truck.

After the service, everyone from the Young American group showed up at the Senshi house for an Easter party. The party was more like a family reunion instead of a party. The large group was surprised to see Lita and Michuri had cooked an emorous feast. It turned into a sunny, warm day. The tree around the Senshi home was just beginning to bloom. Two large tables were brought out from the high school for the dinner. The tables were quickly set by the youngest of the girls. Belldandy and Miss Gina came with flowers for the tables. Steve and the other guys from the London group brought the first of the mint, sage and lemon balm of the season. It was a tribe towards the Lyon stone clam and the Austin clan.

A fairie from Queen Knab's court came guised as a human woman to visit the house of if only for five minutes. When Mina answered the door's he was surprised to door, she was surprised to the fairie. She asked, "Are you looking for discretions?"

"No…I'm looking for a Master Green-briar!" the fairie said with a curt nod.

"Oh," Mina gasped, wide eyed. She didn't want to expect from this faire.

Then, the fairie explained how and the reason why she same. She was hoping to see Elder William in person. There was a flood of rumors about the Troll king's army spreading out in the human form in search of the Sandsun princess.

"It's going to be hard task if the king is veritable!" the fairie said gravely.

It just happened that Rio and Grandfather William were walking into the living room. Rio could sense a present talking to mina. She asked her grandfather who was with mina. He said in fair folk tongue it was a guard from the clan of the Green hill towns, which was looking for him. Then he said in earthly English, "listen. You go to the TV room, o.k."

"Yea," she agreed. She felt the present of the fairie. Then, she asked, "Grandfather?"

"Just go, little one!" Grandfather William coaxed.

Rio had her white cane at her side. Lately, she was training to use brail and a cane. She was adjusting to a sightless world.

Rio's grandfather stayed for a little while. When he left he told Rio to be ready for the fight of her life. He knew something was about to unfold for her within the next twenty-four hours.

Rio wondered as she sat with Dusty in the front room went she will be able to see. Dusty asked as he sat next to her on the sofa, "You have a bed at the hospital?"

"Yes…Terri had checked my blood count. It's a little shaky. He doesn't want to take any chances!"

Dusty sighed in a wishful breath, "the time you spent being blind will be over, soon!"

A voice crept in Rio's mind. "Wishful thinking!" it hissed.

Rio jolted a little as a chill stared to peck away at her. She felt suddenly cold. Dusty noticed Rio's face growing pale. He didn't want to lead on which he knew Rio was having another attack.

"Dusty!" Allen's voice called out form the kitchen.

Dusty reached out to take Rio's hand into his. He leaned his head against hers. He had no power to help Rio with her problem. "I have to go!" he whispered loudly.

Then, he turned his face to hers and gave a kiss to Rio on her check. Rio wanted to have her wish more than anything was to see Dusty's face. He stood up slowly and walked out of the room. He said, "I will be back tomorrow…before you go off the hospital."

"Yea…I'll be waiting!" Rio smiled, trying to hold back the pain.

Dusty left the room.

Inside Rio's mind, she was trying to break free from all the pain and torture that the in the almost cruel human type virus. It still had a strong hold on her. Rio had to fight long into her dreams. It was long and bitter struggle that she was hoping to win.

Nat and Nick stopped over to how the girls were holding up. Haruka was carrying Rio to her bedroom. Rio was totally drained. She didn't tell the others about her inner battle for her life. To them she appeared to be sleeping.

Nick and Lita were standing in the hallway between the dinning room adn the bedrooms. He noticed how pale Rio had become laity. He said in a concerned voice, "She's looks extremely tired!"

"She's trying to get her strength back. She pushes herself too hard like always. It's becoming more difficult for her even to go to school," Lita sighed as she raised a hand to brush back her bangs from her forehead.

"She is determined to live at any cost!" Nick grinned. He realized Lita was worried. He was trying to cheer her up. "The only thing is keeping her going was and is friendship!"

"Thanks!" Lita sighed. There was a hint of a smile on her lips.

Haruka walked out of Rio's bedroom. She turned to see Lita and Nick standing into the hallway. She padded over to where the two where standing. "Rio is finally asleep!" she sighed.

"The day after today. She will have her sight back!" Haruka smiled sadly. "Rio is strong in her soul!"

"Let's hope for her!" Nick said.

Little didn't they know Rio was going loose her will to live if she knew who was behind the virus.

It was four or five in the morning when Rio was forced to wake up. It was the virus starting to chip away at the remains of her being. She sat up in bed. She didn't want to make a sound. Ami shared the room with her since the day she came home from the hospital.

Rio slowly climbed out of the bed. She felt incredibly ill. The chills she had she tried to shake off. It made Rio even more helpless. On straining her ears, Rio didn't hear Ami telling her to go back bed to and stay put.

After a game of blind man's bluff, Rio made it to the door. She held out a hand to pat down the door for the handle. Her fingers finally rested on the knob. She fumbled for the knob until it opened. She pulled the door carefully. Rio felt a change in the air. She knew from the weeks of being blind, she had sharpened senses. The air felt cooler in the hall. She started to walk out the room.

In her mind, Rio could hear the virus telling her that it was no good to put up a fight. She had to fight for her life. She shouted in her mind, "I'M A PRINCESS, A SAILOR SENSHI. WHO EVER YOU ARE, I DON'T HAVE A MEMORY OF YOU!"

Rio was headed for the bathroom. She stumbled down the hall. She didn't realized that she ran across a small table with a vase when she tried to find her way to the bathroom. She whispered in a low weepy voice, "please leave me alone!"

She thought she was walking into a trap.

There was a crashing thud outside of Haruka's bedroom. She awoke to the noise. There were a couple of minutes of trying to piece together the sounds. She opened her eyes to the darkened room. Slowly, Haurka crawled out of bed and walked to the opened doorway. She stuck out her head of the doorway and found Rio sprawled out on the floor. "Rio," she gasped.

She walked out of her room to where Rio was laying. Bending down to see what happened to Rio, Haurka noticed Rio's face was chalky white. She didn't need to think. She knew Rio was in trouble.

Ami was still sleep in bed when Haurka began to wake her up. She felt a hand her right shoulder. "Ami?" a voice asked in a whisper.

It a few minutes before Ami opened her eyes, she yawned, "Wha?"

"It's Rio!" Haurka whispered loudly. "She needs help!"

"Rio!" Ami said sleepily.

"She looks like she had another attack!"

Ami began to piece together things in her mind. Rio was in danger if she didn't get some medicinal attention. "Let me get a change of clothes!" Ami said as she sat up in bed.

"Fine, I'll get her ready!" Haurka said.

"Right!" Ami yawned.

Haurka was putting Rio in the car. She had to be very careful as Rio slept through the whole ordeal. Ami was quick when she changed into a sweater and a pair of jeans. She grabbed a small notebook with a copy of Rio's medical history. She woke up Rei and Serena to inform them about Rio's fall. Serena said as she sat up in bed, "Rio will not give up that easily. She's a sailor scout. We will pray for her sight to return!"

"Yes…there is nothing to stop our scout power!" Ami nodded.

Dusty was sleeping in his bed at the London group's home for some time before he had a vision. Rio was realized form the hospital at the same time Dusty's slow recovery. He was easily thorough of hoping to see Rio one day. He wished for Rio to see another sun set. He woke up in a cold sweat. Sitting on his pillow, dusty had a flash vision. He could see Rio lying on a bed of lilies and moonflowers. She appeared to be in a peaceful sleep. There was a path of cut moonstone redoing up to the flowerbed. Dusty felt completed to run down the path. As he stepped one foot one the path, an unseen force instantly sucked up Dusty. It was too quick when he was thrown into a void. He opened his eyes to the vanishing vision.

Dust's heart leapt to his mouth. Dusty clutched at the blanket. Then, he voice took the only tome that he knew at the time. He screamed, "RIO…RIO…RIO, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"

In a few minutes after Dusty waking up when Jerry, Steve and Allen came in a panicked rush as they entered Dusty's room. As they came closed to Dusty's bed, Jerry could see Dusty shivering for no reason.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked rubbing his left eye with his raised right hand.

"Rio is very ill!" Dusty murmured loudly.

"We know that!" Allen grumbled.

Dusty stared at the other three in wide eye glare; "she's on the edge!" he instantly collapsed back on to the pillow.

In the confusion, Steve could piece together what little Dusty murmured about. He had a bad feeling, on entering Dusty's room. At first the other two were in wonder. Jerry sighed before he let out a yawn; "We're in trouble if Dusty is flipping out!"

Allen was thinking what happened to Dusty. He looked so pale as he spoke. The vision that dusty has just clear like Rio's dreamtime.

"Rio don't leave!" the last words before Dusty fell back to an unfitful rest.

Haruka was nearly flying down the street in the car that she drove. The sky was still that the heat was dancing on the phone polls. Tonight seemed unjust as Rio's fever grew. She lay on the back seat. Ami went along for the ride in the front with Haruka.

At the house, Serena and Michuri sat in the living room. Serena fidget on the sofa while Michuri sat on a chair. They going to stay up and wait.

Nat was in her office at the hospital. It had been a quiet night. All was going to come to ahead when she heard her name being paged. She wondered how would be paging her. When she came to the e/r nurse's station, Nat met up with Haurka. The young blond woman stood in the hallway, waiting for Nat. she said as she saw Nat, "Doctor Lambert!"

"Haruka?" Nat questioned the sailor senshi. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Rio, she's very ill. The virus is taking over!" Haruka said in a distance voice as she tried to remain calm.

Nat was floored by Rio's outcome. Her eyebrow shot up when she said, "how can you tell?"

Haurka was never the one to space out like she did. She stared at a wall from a second or two. Then, Nat brought back to earth by calling out her name softly. Then, blond runner said before blinking for a second, "She's barely breathing and there was a flushed look on her cheeks."

Nat heard Ami's voice calling out Hakura's name. Nat had some idea of what was going on. She said, "Go and be with Ami and Rio! They need you."

"Yea…" Haruka said before she saw Ami coming towards the two. They noticed the frightened look in Ami's eyes.

"Look, Rio's fever is spiking. They are trying to break. We need to call up her family. I am hope I'm in the wrong when I say Rio night dying!" Ami sighed loudly.

The shocking news was the last thing on their over rot mind.

Rio was on her last legs. There was no way out. She prayed with once of her should that she was on the right path. The medicine was confusion in her mind. There was no one to help her. She had to give it all, if she was going to survive.

Pulling the memories of love and hate to the deepest well in her soul. Rio needed time to prepare for the fight. There was all or nothing in this crapshoot. She felt inerasably worn out. A voice spoke in her mind as it said, "I can't understand you!"

"Why…I'm human!" were Rio's last words.

Ami and Haruka sat in the e/r waiting room. It was going on five in the morning. Ami said as she looked up from her magazine, "Rio was in there for a long time!"

"They started the operation at four!" Haruka said.

"I wonder if this is it?"

"Blindness, we never," Haurka turned to see Ami's eyes started to grow heavy. "Talked about it!"

Then, Ami's head began to droop. She was getting sleepy. Haurka stopped her talking because she didn't want to keep Ami way form any scarp of important sleep.

It was nearly six in the morning when Rio's fever finally broke. She could half heard people. She wanted to open her eyes. She sensed a weight hold her eyes back. She managed to speak in a whisper, "Mama!"

A male voice said, "Rio…your fever had just broke. You'll be able to see again, we hope!"

She breathed unsteadily. There was a desperate cry of loosing hope from within. She had to not stop for a second or the virus would have her soul. Rio had another sensation flowing into her left arm. She wondered if an IV was attached to her arm. Then, she had forehead washed by another nurse. She said, "Who is doing that?"

"I'm you nurse, Anne!" a female voice said.

Rio heard in the distance, "Give me half a hour. Then, I'll be ready!"

Rio realized whom it was from on one snatch of a statement. She half whispered, "Terri. . .I'm in you hands."

Then, she felt her body being moved. They were going to take her to the operating room. All that Rio had now was hope.

Seiya had to get up for his morning run. He quickly handed form his nightclothes to his jogging sweats. He was quiet when he got ready. Yaten stayed up to watch a movie on one of the many classic movie channels. He fell asleep on the sofa. The TV was off and the room was dark. Yaten was still out when Seiya entered the room. He noticed the blanket half covering his little brother's body. Walking over to the sofa, Seiya was hoping to be quiet. He didn't a grumpy brother on his hands. He carefully bent down to pick up the blanket. He straightened it out. He heard his brother's soft whelping voice, "Please…I don't want you to leave!"

Seiya stopped for a minute. He wondered if Yaten was dreaming about Princess Kayuu or was it mina. Yaten was still having a hard time adjusting back to a normal life. He would be able to still to fight. Yet, he didn't have he fear of loss his Mina if he could see her living.

"Little brother," Seiya said gently. He carefully tucked the blanket around Yaten's chin. "I'll pray that you have sweet dreams and no more tears!"

The phone rang unexpectedly. Seiya had to answer the phone before Yaten or Taiki wore up. Seiya darted to the phone table and picked up the receiver. He said in a loud whisper, "Hello!"

"Uh?" a female voice said.

Seiya wondered if Serena was calling up the house. There was a reason behind the call. He said, in a louder tone, "Who is it?"

After a minute of silence, Serena's voice over the phone, "Seiya…it's me, Serena. I was calling you to tell you guys that Rio is in the hospital!"

"What?" Seiya gasped. He was completely floored at Serena's statement. Did Rio's virus get the better of her? He said, trying to be calm, "how is she?"

"I'm not sure. When Hakura and Ami took Rio to the hospital, Rio had a high fever!"

"She has a fever?" Seiya asked. He felt helpless at an unseen foe he couldn't fight. The virus wasn't a part of Galaxia's minions.

"That's what I got. They haven't called up yet!" Serena said.

Seiya noticed a hint of stress in Serena's voice. He said, "Let me go over there and keep Ami and Haruka company!" Seiya said.

"Fine!" Serena sighed comfortably. She was hoping for Seiya's help in this matter.

"What?" a sleepy voice asked.

"I hope we don't loose Rio. She has a part missing that she needs to find before she dies. She always told me she wanted remember her memory when she was thirteen. I think she will never got do that!"

"Don't say that! Remember she has a strong will to live!" Seiya said. He was trying to gather up hope and courage for Rio's sake. He didn't want Rio leave just yet.

Serena said her goodbyes before she hung up. Seiya heard a noise as he hang up the phone on his end, coming from the sofa. It was Yaten waking up. Yaten yawned sat up on the sofa. He murmured loudly, "Was that your meatball head?"

"Yea!" Seiya said as turned to see his little brother. "Rio is in the hospital."

Yaten's mind snapped as he gaped, "Uh?"

"Finally…she's at the O/R. Terri must be helping to remove those strings from Rio's eyes."

There was a minute of quiet before Yaten asked, "Is that true?"

"Let's hope!"

Rio's dreamtime was in turmoil. She was peaceful in the out side as the O/R staff prepped her body for the operation. She had to fight hard in the inside. The nurse was starting another IV. She watched Rio's breathing. She knew that Rio didn't have much of a chance if she had the operation. Yet, Rio didn't believe in giving up. In an instant Rio was deeply sleeping, the pain she was in had been nearly chase out her body. The rest needed a serious packing order to leave her body. She was wheeled to the O/R from the prep room.

Rio stood in her Dreamtime very much troubled. The ground, which was always filled with, was always filled with light and peace. It was now dark. Rio felt the powers she owned both as a sailor Senshi and a princess of her home worlds were being tested. The virus was going to put Rio thought the ringer once last time.

Rio looked down at her herself. The outfit she was wearing was a cross between her Sailor uniform and her princess dress. She hoped that her Sailor powers were still there. She asked in angry, tired tone, "Hey!"

There was no response to her voice. Rio scared and crushed, stood at attention. It was a part of her now. She snarled at her own fear, "Come on…you."

There was a low grumble, which could be felt form all over the dreamtime. Rio closed her eyes to dig deep within her soul. She had to be brave. She was prepared herself from the chant of the lion's song. This was old as old as the sky. She felt a call as the virus heard the chant. Rio noticed a spark of light coming from her closed eyes. She had to open her eyes as the heat from a power. It was the power of wisdom and the ebbing power of the planet that she settled down. She had to cal out for her sisters and brothers of the sailor senshi households. She cried in her mind, "Brothers…sisters…I need your heart power!"

The virus was vexed in a breath of Rio's chanting. Its voice boomed over the quiet chanting, "WHAT IS HEART POWER! JUST A STUPID EXCUSE FOR YOUR BODY TO LIVE!"

There was fire in Rio's soul. She raised her hands over her head as she snapped, "Yea…right!"

Pulling every once of agony into this in last-ditch effort, Rio was hoping for an end to the madness. Then, Rio felt a burn of a white fire. She thought in the deepest part of her soul, "If do die…then, Dusty…I shall wait for you!"

The white light engulfed her body. She closed her eyes, letting the light warm her body. Rio healed her own body with cold fire.

The Heavens opened to let the stars of the planets lend their powers to one who was so frail.

Seiya, Ami and Haruka sat in same waiting room as before when it was just the two girls. They didn't want for a long time. Instead they hoped in the quiet hours of dawn. Between trying to contact Jakten and Rio's two uncles they didn't have too much time to be waiting around.

Then, Dusty showed up at the doorway of the waiting room. He lacked sleep after he was wakening by his vision. He was deeply troubled from the inside out. He said quietly, "Hey!"

Seiya looked up from his stared at a magazine and said, "Hi!"

Dusty glanced the other two as he said, "I wanted to see how Rio was!"

"We're not sure. The nurse hadn't shown up, yet!"

Dusty entered the room. He was hoping to hear the out come after the operation. Walking to a chair, Dusty noticed Ami curled up on a love seat. Haruka was still awake as she sat on a chair. "You lot," Dusty glanced around for a place to sleep. "Don't mind if I sit with you!"

Seiya shook his head. He thought of much as Dusty as he would think of his two brothers. Dusty slumped into a chair opposite of Seiya. He felt on the edge of sleeping on his feet. He sensed a great of evil in Rio's soul. He was afraid of entry loosing her.

Dusty wasn't going let her slip through his fingers that easily. Dusty was going to be Rio's husband after they finished high school. They were happy and lucky. Dusty tried to catnap. What were stopping him from sleep were his nerves. They were still tightened to the max every passing minute.

Seiya noticed Dusty's dace lined with worry. He said to Haruka in Japanese to effect of Dusty need a cup of tea. He was concerned for Rio and Dusty's future.

Dawn was waiting on the edge as Rio fought her hardest. Her memoirs of her past came back to guide her through the operation. She battled in the dark with her shreds of her only hope. When it came to check on her eyes, Terri carefully opened each eye to see what was the condition after the long clean up job. He was greatly relieved to see Rio's was clear as he cleared up the last of the liquid from her eyes.

Seiya was standing in the hallway to stretch his legs. He noticed a nurse dressed in surgical scrubs walking up the hallway, towards the waiting room he was in. He was anxious as he stopped the nurse. "Ma'am!" he asked.

"Yes," the nurse said as she stopped in front of him.

"How is Rio…I mean, Miss Lyonstone?"

"She will be fine. Her eyes are free from any sort of infection. But, that is for her sight. You have to talk it over with her doctor!"

"Oh," Seiya said softly. He felt his heart sink just a little. He hoped to hear some good news after the long months of waiting and praying for a cure on Rio's eyes.

"Seiya?" Ami asked as she stood in the doorway. " Is that nurse?"

"Yes. I have to call up Jakten," Seiya nodded slightly. He hoped that Rio was O.K.

"Can I talk to her?" Ami said.

"Sure," he said as he glanced at a clock, which hung the opposite end of the hall. It was going on seven in the morning. Then, he asked the nurse what room Rio was in. The nurse told him she was in recovery room seven.

Rio was resting comfortable in bed. She was taken after the operation to the recovery area. She was half drugged into a twilight sleep. Her breathing and vitals were carefully monitored by another host of machines. She barely heard the door opening. She hardly clutched at the bed sheet. "Rio?" a gentle voice asked.

"Uh?" Rio murmured in a breath.

"It's me, Seiya," the voice said.

Rio felt a hand take her hand and hold it. "Where?" Rio asked. She was trying to latch on the voice, yet she was too relaxed to even stir. She was inside her personal pool of dark water. She breathed slowly as she heard Seiya voice.

"You rest," he said.

Rio wanted to see what was going on for a minute. She said as she tried to move, "Dusty?"

"He's here. You need to sleep."

"Sleep?" Rio yawned as she gripped Seiya's hand in a weak movement.

Seiya smiled sadly as he watched over his friend sleep. He released her hand and placed back gently on the bed. She felt the small cool puffs of air hitting her nose. It meant that she was breathing with some aid.

Seiya sang to Rio in the soft voice. He sang, "Alas, my love, you do me wrong. To cast me off discourteously. For I have loved you well and long. Delighting in your company." (From the song Greensleeves)

Rio heard the song until she was deep with her soul, fast asleep.

"A life for a life. That is all what really matters, my dear one. We have travel this life on foot for much a long time. What is in your heart at this time?" a quiet natural voice asked. It came from a small radio somewhere in the azure morning.

Dawn was finally making the séance. Seiya was now sitting across from Rio. She drifted in and out of sleep for the last hour. There was a knock on the door. Seiya stood up and walked to the door. He opened it to see who was there. Stephanie and Steve were standing in the doorway. They both had a worried look in their eyes. Stephanie asked, "How is she?"

"Sleeping. Terri came in and told me that everything went smoothly. Ami and Haurka went home. I think Dusty is still here!" Seiya smiled.

"Yea, he was in the cafeteria when we got here. He was trying to get a cup of coffee!"

"I hope that he will have some thing to say about Rio's recovery?" Steve said.

"She needs him," Seiya smiled.

It was hours before Rio finally woke up. She felt sick to her stomach when she heard Seiya and Steve talking. Stephanie stepped out for a minute to get a bottle of water. She said, "Seiya?"

Seiya and Steve were sitting at Rio's bedside. He said as he leaned forward, "I'm here!"

"Where is Dusty?" she managed to say after minute of playing about with her mindset.

"He went home. He has to call up your Uncle Zigfield back in London!"

"Is he comin' back?" she whispered loudly.

"Yes. In a little while," Seiya smiled. "After he talked your family!"

Rio drifted back to sleep. She was now convinced that Dusty would stay with her. She tried to understand his reasons for leaving.

A man stood in the doorway of some tavern in Salem. He was trying to make a phone call on his cel. He wasn't going to let a little thing like rain standing between him and the party he was calling. He didn't mind the idea of losing out in his dinner either. He wore a dark hat and long caramel colored raincoat.

The wind torn at his ungloved hands as he held a pack of smokes in one hand and with the other his phone. He muttered about the wet as he heard the phone ring. Then, he said when the person on the other end picked up. He said, "Hello. Simon, please don't come here. The situation is under control. That's all! Thanks!"

Then, he hung up. He noticed a red VW Beetle zipped past him on the street. He hoped that the person who was driving it didn't look his way. He stuffed his phone back in his jacket pocket before placing the packet of smokes up to his lips. He pulled out a cigarette with his lips. Holding it in his mouth, the man turned to open the tavern's door with his free hand. He stepped into the darkened tavern.

Rio had been resting most of the morning. She half heard voices of people coming and going. Then, there were the noises of the room. She finally woke up to have Seiya and Serena bricking at each other. They were disagreeing over a little thing namely TV shows. Rio didn't know what was going on at first. She didn't have a liking to some of the more modern TV shows. She loved the classics. Rio murmured loudly, "Hey…wha you lot griping about now."

"Rio?" Serena asked. She and Seiya were sitting side by side at the left of Rio's bed. She glanced at Rio who was lying in bed with one hand nearly posed at Rio's face. "Are you awake?"

"Of course. Your yakking can wake the dead," Rio breathed loudly. The medicine she was on made her irritable.

"Rio. Sorry!" Seiya said.

"That's all right. It was about time for me to get up anyways!" Rio huffed. She tried to sit up. She found out that she was still a little weak from the operation. She asked for a nurse after she heard Seiya asking her if she wanted help!

He turned to walk out of the room when he noticed an over sized card coming toward the doorway. Seiya said, "What in the heck is that coming into the room!"

"It's a card, silly!" a voice said as Miss Washu entered the room.

"I know it's a card, why so big!" Seiya asked as he moved over to one side.

"I believed I wanted to get a card to have everyone sign when I found out about Rio's hospital stay."

"So, you got the world's biggest card!" Serena said as she watched Washu carrying the card to the window.

"Almost," Washu nodded.

"Almost only counts for horse shoes, Miss Washu," Rio said.

"Where did you come up with that idea!" Washu asked.

"My Uncle Anthony. He always told me about that!"

"I'm just going to leave it here. The only thing you have to do is have someone read it to you," Washu said as she placed the card on the floor.

"Thanks!" Rio said.

Then, Washu asked Serena and Seiya to step out for a minute. She knew Rio wasn't looking too good. She became concerned after she glanced at Rio. There was still a shell-shocked look on Rio's face. "I have nothing more to say after I seen her," Washu thought.

"I would to like her for a minute," a female voice said gnelty.

Both Washu and Serena turned to see a nurse who was now entering the room. She was going to check on Rio as she made her rounds. She told the others to leave the room for a minute. Seiya, Washu and Serena said their goodbyes to Rio. Rio said in a way of a small joke, "I'll be seeing you, later!"

"Rio!" Serena griped a little.

"We see your point!" Washu said after glancing over Rio.

"Funny!" Rio shook her head for a second. Then, she felt the bandages pulled at the sides of her head. She bit her lower lip for another second. There was still pain from the operation. She hoped that Terri removed her eyes even if there was infection.

After three left the room, Washu made Seiya and Serena stop in the hallway for a minute. There was a concerned look on her face. She said, "Serena, Seiya, did Terri tell you the full detail of the operation on Rio's eyes."

"Yes," Seiya said as Serena nodded.

"What did he say about Rio's eyes!" Washu asked as she placed up to her chin.

"The operation took longer than he expected. He didn't want to take any chances. They were clean, but he has placed on a highly strong antitoxic."

"She will be sick for a little while. They have her staying for a couple of days in DCU. They are keeping a track on her blood count!" Serena said.

"What else?" Washu asked.

"We're not sure!" Seiya sighed. He glanced at where Rio was. She was tired, but calm. He hoped that she was going to be all right.

"They have to run some tests tomorrow and then we can figure out what else is going to happen to her," Serena said.

"What kind tests?" Washu asked. She was now curious of what kind of testing that Rio still had to go through.

"Blood and light tests. Rio has to rest first. She was very ill when Ami and Hakura brought her in."

"Yea. Her count was through the roof and her breathing was very hoarse," Seiya added.

"It's sounds like she had a bad case of pneumonia. Yet, there was some tie into the strain that I ran across in her blood with the tests I used here. I sounds too far fetched, but are living in world that man is trying to break all the natural rules!" Washu huffed. She felt like she was kicked in the head for even thinking her ideas.

"Are you for certain?" Seiya asked slowly. He was thinking on the same lines.

"I wish I knew. Yet, if it has to be, then Rio will be tested again. It's too bizarre of idea to even dreaming of this time. There are too loose ends that are left undone."

With that they left Rio to rest the rest of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

May

By Julia macgergor

She brings eyesight to the blind * * (taken from the Rock opera Tommy by the Who: the song: She brings eyesight to the blind)

Rio nervously sat in the waiting room of the Salem Community hospital. She was with both Dusty and Seiya. Seiya was there to give Rio support during her time of need. Dusty was there also to give comfort and care for his girl friend. Rio was thinking month of May. It was the time at her Uncle Anthony's farm. There were always parties and round robins. The feasting and families socials were common in her life. There was the feeling of never ending parades of loud singing, dancing, talking and having local mummers or performers. She missed those days. Yet, she had grown in strength as a young woman, learning it was more than just bad luck to be blinded if it was only temporary. Rio talked to Dusty who sat next to her.

Seiya gently paced the floor. He hoped with all of his being that Rio wasn't blind. She was the very last of Sailor Senshi to be granted power from Queen Serenity or Princess Kakyuu. She had to be all right with her eyes. 

Seiya looked up from his pacing. He thought he had heard something. He knew that Taiki and Yaten were there in the hall. They didn't want make a fuss over Rio like Seiya. Seiya had more feelings for the humans than his brothers. He walked over to the door. On opening the door, Seiya was met with surprise. He saw the Inners with Taiki and Yaten standing in the hall. Serena and Rei were having a loud dissection about Rio's eyesight. Rei rolled her eyes at Serena, "You couldn't wait!" 

"Wait…for what?" Serena asked looking innocently at Rei.

"For Rio to come back!"

Rio heard the two disagreeing over her. She had to smile. She said as she reached over to tap Dusty on the hand, "I can hear them!"

"Yea?" Dusty said. He had a bird's eye view of the hallway. He shook his head, "Those two never stop arguing!"

Rio sighed, "I think that's they nature!" 

A nurse opened another door to the inner offices and exam rooms. She said, "Miss Lyonstone…the doctor will see you now!" 

"Thank you!" Rio said. She felt her heart beat a little faster. She realized it was going to be the make it or break it time for her. 

Dusty stood with her before the two walked over to the door. He said, "Everything will be all right!"

+++

In the office, Rio was still nervous as she sat on other chair. She heard the voices coming from down the hall. She realized her hearing wasn't sharp enough to price through doors. She heard Dusty tapping his fingers against the metal arm rest of his chair. She said, "I hope you are not going to flip out if I am blind!" 

Dusty was taken aback. He knew she was to the point on certain things. He wanted to laugh it off. Although he was faking his laughter, inside he didn't want any harm coming to his girlfriend. "Are you pulling me leg, love?" he griped. His grin was forced on his lips. 

"Don't push your luck. I want your straight answer. I don't mind the help. Yet, being babied all the time is not going to make me a stronger leader. You know and hate it!" Rio uttered loudly. 

The door opened. Terri entered the room with a large envelope in one hand. He said,

"Rio, are you ready for the bandages to come off?" 

He sounded calm, yet there was a hint of worry in his voice as well. He and the other staff who worked on Rio's blindness hoped only for the best for her. Rio was a strong person and the staff knew it from the visits she had gone to. 

"Yes…I am!" Rio braced herself for the worst. 

Terri waited for Rio to get off the chair. Ten, he helped her to the examination table. Terri had a pair of scissors in his hand after he fished then out of his jacket pocket. He told what he was going to do in order to make her feel comfort, able. He didn't want to shock her. He wore a pair of gloves. 

Dusty watched as Terri snipped off the first aid tape from the bandages. Terri was careful as he started to roll the bandages away from Rio's face. He said, "What are you going to do if your uncle wants to you to go back home?" 

"Don't know. You know me. I have been always able to think on my feet!" Rio smiled a little. 

"Yes," Terri said, bending his head little. "That always gets you into trouble!" 

"Not always!" Rio chided, smiling. 

He had stopped nearly at the end of the last line of bandage. He told Rio keep her eyes closed. There was a knock on the door. He told the person on the other side of door it was open.

A nurse entered the door after opening the door. She was quickly instructed to dim the lights. Terri didn't want Rio's eyes to be exposed too much light. He said, "Now…Rio…must be calm." 

"Yea, mate!" Rio griped. She had heard that enough times to be now a bore. 

"Listen to me," Terri sighed. 

"She wouldn't!" Dusty said. He knew how pigheaded Rio was. 

"I am so calm…look at me hands!" Rio griped. She held out her hands to show both

Dusty and Terri she was nervous. 

"O.K. your hands are not shaking. Yet, once the bandages are off, I want you to follow my instructions," Terri sighed. 

"Yes sir!" Rio groaned. The excitement was eating at her. 

"Nurse," Terri said. He carefully unloosened the last bandage. Rio felt the bandages and hands coming towards her eyes. She gasped, holding her hands at the sides of the chair. He said, "Now. There is going to be some slight discomfort at first. I want you to get use to the light. The room is dim enough that you can see. I'll gradually turn up the lights until the room is back to normal." 

"O.K." Rio sighed. She tried to keep her excitement down to a reasonable level. On feeling the pads coming off, she slowly opened her eyes. There was a sharp light nearly blinding her little which came from the window. The last blind wasn't turned down all the way. She winced for a minute before letting the shadows take shape in her mind. She said, "Terri. Is that you?" 

"Yes, it is!" Terri said. He stood from her about foot. He noticed her eyes trying to adjust to the light. "How do your eyes feel?" 

"It's like being hit in the head with a sock full of rocks!" Rio uttered, trying not to move her head. 

"A sock full of rocks?" Terri said. 

"Long story!" Rio sighed. She didn't have the time to go into detail about what happen

between her and some of her cousins. 

"I am sure," Terri smiled. He could tell that Rio didn't always have a quiet life on her Uncle's farm. "Outside of that…what do you see?"

"I think I see white. You are wearing a white coat?" she asked, her eyes now focusing on

a large white blur in front of her. 

"Yes, I am. What else?" 

"Blue…and tan!" 

"Good…she can see some color," Terri thought. He was wearing a tie with some tan and blue in the pattern. Then, he said, "Can you see anything else." 

Rio slowly looked around. She could see someone standing in the door way. She could make out a long black tail of sorts. She asked, "Seiya…is that you?" 

"Yes…it is!" Seiya said. He breathed in a sigh of relief. His only hope was to have Rio's eye sight grow stronger. 

"Thank. I would like to have a walk in the park after you are done with me, Terri!" Rio said. " I want to see the sky once again." 

"You will," Dusty said. His fingers on his one hand were crossed. He wanted to hear Rio asking for a walk in the park. To be in the dark for so long and helpless even made Dusty worried.

+++ 

Dusty took Rio to the park. It was minutes away from the doctor's office. He walked with her, holding on to her hand. He talked about the future with her. He didn't want another thing to go with her. 

Reenie and Hotura were with Lita. The three decided waiting around for Rio was getting boring. They wanted to be in the fresh air for a little while. Yet, they followed Rio and Dusty at a sneaky pace. Hotura didn't want to go to the park. She had things to do at home. Reenie told her it would be fun to just want Rio to see if she was O.K. 

Then, it seemed like Hotura had to throw a curve ball at Reenie. She asked as she wlak with Reenie and Lita, "Did you have boyfriend?" 

"What…me?" Reenie gasped. She nearly uttered so loudly that Rio swore that she was being followed. Reenie did have a boyfriend if you could him that. Helios was indeed a friend. She had no idea what to think when he helped her along with finding the Golden Millennium crystal. She did have feelings for him when she realized who he really was.

"Yea, kinda!" she said, forcing a smile. 

Hotaru noticed the smile on Reenie's lips. She was curious about what was going with her best friend. "Reenie?" she asked.

"What?" Reenie yipped. Her pink pony tails jerked up in excited fear. 

"Are you telling me the truth?" 

"Uh…well!" Reenie giggled nervous. She placed her two fingers up to each other.

Tapping them together, she sighed. She did almost forget the other. Perle was someone who was couldn't forget that easily. She and the others were helping him defeat the evil Badiyanu from destroying the earth by the use of a black hole. 

"Oh…" Horuta said as she stopped walking, "You don't feel like it right now. I can understand." 

"Sure!" Reenie squeaked. She tried to smile as best as she could. Feeling like she was put on the spot with her words. She had to stop for a minute and think.

+++ 

Rio walked with Dusty. Rio had to wear dark glasses for a while. She had to get use to having her sight back. She was going to watch a quick game between Steve and Tinny.  
The two young lovers walked up to the basketball court near pool. They heard noises of kids playing on the swings. It was like Rio never lost the sense of sharp hearing. She came to a semi caged area. It was the basketball court. Steve, Tinny and Jamie were playing basketball. Tinny was sitting on the edge of the court, waiting for Jamie to finish up shooting hoops. Jamie was taking a break from playing hoops. He felt hot from playing. He nearly forgot to call up Charlie as he played hoops. He had to stop. 

"Are you finished?" tinny asked as he threw the ball to Steve. It bounced towards him in a free throw from Jamie. 

"Yes...Charlie wanted to know if we saw Rio!" he said. On catching the ball with his free hand, Steve slowly dribbled the ball around him. 

"You haven't heard anything yet?" Tinny asked. 

"Today is the day she got those bandages off. Terri must be just as nervous as she is!" 

"Naw!" Tinny said, knowing full well that Terri was always cool under pressure. He trusted Terri with his life. "He's too good to slip up like that!" 

"You think he can do miracles?" Jamie smirked. 

"Yes. With some help!" Steve said as he shrugged. 

"We find out soon!" Jamie said.

Steve pushed the ball towards the other two with his foot. Jamie told him they were not playing soccer. He had to laugh at the statement. Little did they all three knew that they were being watched in the shadows. 

Rio walked to the tennis court. She noticed the three playing basketball. It seemed too normal of a day for evil to pop its head up. Yet, she had a feeling it was going to. She didn't want to say anything to Dusty. Her duel identity was her secret. She hadn't the room to share with anyone else about it outside Serena and the other Sailor Senshi. 

"I was hoping you would end up here!" Dusty smirked. 

"What?" Rio gasped. She knew that he was just pulling her chain. She didn't care for basketball, yet she couldn't say no to her friends who were waiting so patiently to hear the news of her sight. "You know I love football and that's it." 

"Yea," Dusty teased. "What about horse racing and fencing?" 

"Yes…the sport of kings!" Rio blushed. She was sort of romantic when sports came to old fashion. She told Dusty that she was going to watch the people who were playing tennis. She wanted to go walking for a while. She has to see if there were any changes in the world. She hoped to see an old film on TV when she got home. To her the world of sight was too precious to risk on loosing. 

She heard as she walked two familiar voices. One was a whinny little voice calling her heard. She knew it was Serena, trying to check up on her. The other had to be Rei. Rei didn't want to stick her nose when it wasn't needed. Rio turned and said, "Have you been following me?" 

Serena was trapped and felt like she was going to be in trouble she spilled the beans. She turned red as she said, "Nothing. I was really doing nothing!" 

"Nothing…" Rio sighed, placing a hand up to her cheek. She sighed once aging. She knew that she was being spied upon. She said, "Serena, I hope the others don't spy on you!" 

"Who me?" the blond pony tailed girl yipped, forcing her grin on her face. 

"Hey, Rio!" Steve's voice called out. He noticed the two girls standing in the road. Dusty had walked over to where Steve and the other two where. 

"Oi!" Rio returned the call. "What is that you lot want?" 

"Can you see me?" Tinny called out. 

"Yea! I can you mate. What is so hot about seeing you lot playing basketball in the middle of the heat wave. I don't like sweaty bodies!" Rio teased.

"Yea…" Steve teased back. His voice was a little haughty. He smiled with a fake smugness. "Oh, she belongs to a group of people who don't like seeing young men who are not proper. Isn't that right, milady?" 

"Stop it, you nitwit!" Rio said. Rolling her eyes, she wanted to go find Dusty and go home. She needed a long rest. "You lot know I love football." 

The three young men know how to get Rio's goat. They called out, "yea…Dusty plays and you get excited!" 

At first Rio felt like giving them a good smack along side the head. Then, she felt something underlining. Her Sailor abilities were kicking in. there was an evil crawling around the underbelly if the court. She said, "Serena…is Rei around?" 

"Yea…she is at the swings with Reenie and Hotura…why?" Serena asked, sounding serious. She knew Rio could smell or feel the very presence of evil. "You have a vision!" 

"No…yet, there is something there…I can't tell…" Rio said before being cut off. Rio swung around when she felt a surge of darkness hitting the basketball court. At first Tinny and the other two didn't know they were being watched. He and the others was plaything while two agents of the dark army from Galaxia's court spied on them.  
Serene watched as Jadeite and Prince Diamond came into view. Jadeite was dressed in a runner's outfit. He ran up the court. In a cat like speed, he ran up to take the ball away from Tinny who had the ball. Leaving the court open, Tinny started to run after Jadeite.

Prince Diamond said as he appeared out of nowhere in front of the other three, "Ah…have I seen some nice power in your crystals." 

"What?" Steve gaped. He had never seen Prince Diamond before in his life. He felt a little scared as he stared at the Dark Moon prince. 

"His power will do for a start!" jadeite said as he sealed off the basket ball court with an unseen force shield. The evil general spun around to secure the shield with a flick his hands. 

"What are you blokes doing?" Jamie asked. He was starting to feel like a caged animal. He didn't like to be pinned down for long. He glanced around for the basketball. He didn't find it. 

"Taking what you are not using!" Prince Diamond sneered. He threw up his hands to let a shower of black energy rain down on the players. 

The bone jarring screams coming from the court meant only one thing. Rio's friends were being turned into monsters for Galaxia. They Star seeds were now forced out of their bodies. There was only one thing to do. Transform!

Serena grabbed Rio by the arm. She found a small shelter to transform in. they held their transformation items. In heart beat, the girls were now Sailor moon and Sailor Acadia. Stepping out of the shelter, Sailor Acardia felt the dark energy grabbing a hold of Steve.

"Great!" she said. 

"They are going to break us one way or another!" Sailor Moon said. She knew Galaxia needed something more than just power. She didn't want the universes to go down. 

"Not this time!" Sailor Acardia said. She and Sailor Moon make a quick vow never to give up. The two ran up to the basketball court. Before they even could touch the edge of the court they were thrown back. Landing on her feet, sailor Acardia became mad.  
Sailor moon noticed Sailor Acardia's face. Sailor Moon landed on her feet as well. She had a session that Galaxia was going to be pushing the rest of the Sailor senshi's buttons until they anger had come thought. Then, she would feed off the anger to an unknown power source. She said, "Don't let them push you around!" 

"Why?" she asked. Sailor Acadia's eyes were burning with a green fire. "My best mates and love are in there!" 

They heard a scream. Sailor Acardia could tell it was Steve's agonized scream. She balled her fists. She didn't want to run bodingly into a battle. She had no idea what was going on with Steve or the others. 

"Sailor Moon?" a voice called out. 

In the distance near the pool, Sailor Venus and Mars came running up to see what they could do. Once they noticed the pained look on Sailor Acadia's face; they knew backing down from a fight wasn't an option. "What's going on with the basket ball court?" Sailor Mars asked. 

"Yes…what are you going do about it, Sailor Moon?" a deep voice nearly whispered in Sailor Moon's ear. 

Whipping around to see Prince Diamond standing near the tennis court, Sailor Moon nearly screamed. She held her all to keep from hurting him. Sailor Moon glanced at Prince Diamond for a minute. She didn't want to fight him. She wanted him to be healed. She said, "I'm sorry that you feel that way. Yet, don't you understand that these two of wills of their own. Picking people to do your dirty work are not good at all." 

Prince Diamond felt insulted by Sailor Moon's statement. He wanted to score points with Galaxia. He had a bad past with Wiseman. He didn't need to make his leader destroy him. He yearned to see the Black Moon Kingdom raise and take over the earth. When his brother was killed for disobeying Wiseman, Prince Diamond realized he was too late himself when he tried to protect sailor moon from Wiseman's attacks. Galaxia took care of filling the dark prince with hate and blotted out any form of his last life on the planet. Prince Diamond noticed the other two's detestation on restoring the guys back to their old selves. He glanced at the court with a cold eye. He said, "In the power of the darkest realms of the known galaxy I will get my taste of Moon Power!"

The screaming stopped. 

The screaming turned into roaring. 

The shield was dropped and stood where Steve and the others were monsters. The Sailors Senshi was not frightened but, angered buy the sight of more monsters. Sailor Moon had to figure out on how to get Steve and the others back to normal. 

Sailors Venus and Jupiter ran up to the court. Sailor Venus found an opening to the basketball court. She took a chance and squeezed herself though it 

Sailor Jupiter was instantly grabbed on sight. She had an idea for the larger monster that was using Sailor Jupiter as a squeeze ball to run towards the tennis court. Sailor Jupiter raised her one foot up towards the monster's mid-section in a sharp kick. She hoped that the monster would drop her soon. Her arms throbbed in pain. She felt at a loss of not using her powers sooner. Then, she heard Sailor Venus's Love chain grabbing at the monster's neck. The monster was being pulled back slowly. It howled as it felt the chain going around its neck. 

"Sailor moon!" Sailor Mars asked. She looked at the possibility of losing two Sailors in the battle. "What do you think we should do?" 

"I have got to stop Prince Diamond. I might use the Spiral heart attack on him!" Sailor Moon said. 

"Good. I'll get at least one of the monsters!" Sailor Acardia said. 

"What?" Sailor Mars gaped. She didn't want Sailor Acardia to go in at the ever minutes after the monsters came in to being. She and sailor Moon believed that Sailor Acardia should be used at the last minute as a back up. 

"You are not strong enough!" Sailor Moon warned. "It would be crazy, Acardia!" 

"Why…those are my mates. I have been their friend since at least nursery school!" 

"They maybe your friends, yet, don't let that cloud your judgment!" Prince Diamond barked out. He folded his arms over his chest. "They are now the Dark Moon's play things!"  
"Fink!" Sailor Acardia yelped. She was now angered at Prince Diamond's statement. She hated him for what he had done.

"Who is calling who a fink?" Prince Diamond demanded. His glaring eyes were trying to cast a spell on Sailor Acardia. 

"You are!" Sailor Acardia snapped back. She was going for another try. She ran up to area where her friends were. She tried to make a pass at a little monster. She believed it was Steve. The monster made a grab for Sailor Acardia's shoulders. She let out another yelp. 

"Leave her alone," Sailor Jupiter snapped. She had her hands full with a tall monster. She had a feeling it was either Tinny or Dusty as it began to fling its arms about. She moved like she was a basketball player herself as she tried to get out the monster's way. 

"Jupiter…Venus…Acardia!" Sailor Moon cried out. 

There was nothing really she could do unless she used her Spiral Moon wand. She had to use it quickly. Sailor Acarida was now dodging the monsters as she ran back to the edge of the court yard. She had no idea what was going to happen. She also noticed Sailor Venus pinned to a section of the chain link fence by another monster's hand. Venus was now struggling for breath. She had both hands grasping around the monster's arm. 

Then, by a mysterious fluke, a red rose flew past prince Diamond's face. It very slightly grazed the princely profile. Diamond growled under his breath. He knew who threw the rose. In the distance in the far left was Tuxedo Mask. The young masked man was very dashing indeed. He said, "What are you doing to this friendly game of basketball!" 

Prince Diamond was going to make one of the larger monsters take out Cape boy. He was about to order it when he was hit with a small jolt from Sailor Jupiter. Somehow sailor Jupiter managed to aim a direct hit with her Supreme Thunder. 

"What in the heck are you doing that for, you little witch!" Prince Diamond snarled at the green Sailor Senshi. 

"To take you down, pretty boy!" Sailor Jupiter grunted. She was cornered by a third monster. 

"I'll to see you try!" Tuxedo Mask taunted before leaping into the air. 

"Jerk!" Prince Diamond huffed. He knew that Tuxedo mask was a pain in the neck. He had heard the stories about Cape boy turning to the dark side. Was there a possibility. There was no time to be thinking. 

"That's my man you trashing!" Sailor Moon glared at him. She was going to make Prince Diamond pay for what he had said about Tuxedo mask.  
Prince Diamond turned to see Sailor moon. He knew that she the future Moon Queen. He had to have her. He demanded as he held out a hand, "I want you!"

"What?" Sailor Moon said as she felt like she was being trapped again by Prince Diamond. In the past, she was trapped by him in a battle during the hostile take over by the Black Moon family. The sailors had just lost Reenie in a disturbance in the time stream that Sailor Pluto had opened for the Sailor Senshi. "No, I'm going to fall for that one again!" 

Prince diamond now angered, he tossed his one hand very lightly which cause the wind to pick up and throw Sailor moon to the ground. Sailor Moon landed with a thud. She could feel the bones in her body jarring from the pain. She didn't want to fight. She was starting to wimp pout. Yet, she had a notion that someone else was going to creamed if they stepped in. 

"That's it!" Sailor Acardia said. She threw her arms into the air. She was going to attack Prince Diamond one way or another. 

"This little girl is going to attack me! Oh, look at me…I'm scared!" Prince Diamond mocked Sailor Acardia in a dark voice. 

"Jerk!" Sailor Acardia hissed. She wanted to have her mates back to normal. She was powered by all the good memoires she had. She couldn't dream her best friends were going to be used that easily by the Dark moon kingdom. 

"Don't you dare call me that!" Prince Diamond growled at her. He was going to raise his hand to lift Sailor Acardia off the ground. 

He wasn't expecting a blast from the Sailor Senshi of the mystical world of the rose. Sailor Acarida threw her hands into the air. She called upon her powers of a Sailor Senshi. Her left arm was starting to grow pink. She raised her head high as if calling the last of her powers. She called out, "Mystic dream!" 

Aiming at him, Sailor Acardia was going to smash prince Diamond to his knees. 

"Acardia!" Sailor Venus gasped. She could see a fragment of the battle. She hoped that her sister Sailor was playing into a trap. 

"Little girl!" Prince diamond hissed. He tried to back away from her attack. There was no way he could avoid it. He was slammed hard as the light collided with him. Prince diamond was still standing. He felt the pain of the light trying to cleanse his body. He closed his eyes if only for a minute. He hissed, "You will pay for that!" 

"Gotchya!" Sailor Acardia said. Then, if by some sort of some unspoken order another monster ran behind Sailor Acardia. It instantly threw its arms around her. She let out a scream as the arms pinned her arms. She had a sense that it was Dusty who was the monster. She didn't want Dusty to be a monster. The evil that was keeping him at this form was a sickening trick pulled by the Dark Moon. "Let me go!" she yelped.  
She tried to struggle, but to no use. The monster had an iron type grip on her. She felt herself being lifted off the ground. She hoped some how she could kick the monster in the shins. Then, it would let her go. She tried to move her legs. The monster picked up on her movements. Instantly the monster's grip became tighter.

"Acardia!" Sailor Moon cried out. She could see her sister senshi being crushed to death. 

"Let me go you big ape!" Sailor Acardia groaned loudly. She felt her ribs bucking against the weight. She tried to kick harder to put her point across. 

Then, if by fate, a bright beam if blue light smashed into the monster's forehead. The monster felt the pain of the light and instantly dropped Sailor Acardia. She had landed on her knees. She groaned a little from the landing. She said as she weakly looked up, "Who was that?" 

"How dare you make these people into puppets of your evil!" a voice called out. 

All eyes turned to see Sailor Star-fighter standing in near a tree. He was not happy to hear the screaming going on. He was the very last to go from the hospital as Seiya. He had some questions to ask of Terri about Rio's eye sight. He had quickly transformed into Sailor Star-fighter when he noticed the monsters on the ball court. 

Now, he was standing at the opening of the basketball court. He was going to free Sailor Acardia one way or another. He said, "Now…let her go!" 

"Why?" Prince Diamond growled. He could see something in each Sailor Senshi, A power that no one else had. "With her…she could be an easily pliable puppet." 

"Yea…right!" Sailor Acarida winced. She wanted to kick the monster in foot. She couldn't even move her legs. The monster began to swing her like a bell on a string. She let out a yelp. 

"Fire ball flash!" Sailor Mars called out. Somehow Sailor Mars freed herself from another monster's grip. She didn't want to leave anything to chance. She had a clear shot in getting a small but easily cleared hole of opportunity with Prince Diamond. 

"What in the heck was that?" Sailor Moon said. 

The monster quickly dropped its prey. Sailor Acarida landed on her feet. She gritted her teeth as she felt the ground slamming against her feet. She said, "Thanks…I think!" 

The monster nearly fell back when it felt the heat from the blast. Sailor Acarida slowly backed away from the monster she hoped that it wasn't Dusty. She would be crushed if Dusty lost his sight because of the Dark Moon's hungry for power.  
Prince Diamond tried to get Sailor Acarida once again. She was too fast for him. She somehow darted quickly towards Sailor Mars who was now standing at one end of the ball court. "Think of it…You fool," Jadeite said. He had teleported himself near Prince Diamond. "We are so close!"

"I'm aware of that!" the white haired prince said. He turned to give Jadeite a cold stare. The day wasn't in their favor. "You don't have to tell me twice."

"Jerk!" Jedite murmured to himself before glancing over at Sailor Acarida. She was now standing. "You think you have everything under control?"

"Yes!" Prince diamond hissed. Then, he threw his hands down. Sailor Acarida felt pain. She screamed loudly.

"That's enough!" Sailor Moon cried out. She had too much shoved at her. She was going to fight back as best as she could. On razing her wand up to the air, she said, "for the Moon kingdom, I will have to punish you!"

"You think?" he snorted at her. He walked over to the Moon princess. He had to have her in his hands. He wanted to kill off King Darien. It was set up so perfectly that it was like Galaxia was just handing over Sailor Moon for him. "Try to stop me. You don't have the power to do it!"

Sailor Moon, trapped into a corner, curled her lips over her teeth. She didn't want to back down just yet. She said, "By the Moon Kingdom…I'll punish you!"

"Ha!" the prince hissed. "Don't make me laugh!"

Was now standing so close, he felt like turning his powers on her.

"You take things that don't belong to you! You are so evil when you twist them, it breaks my heart!" Sailor Moon gasped. She felt the pain inside of the monsters. They wanted to be only human once again.

"Your heart will be mines!" Prince Diamond ordered. He knew he was breaking her down to his level.

"I don't think so!" Sailor Moon said as she began to back away. She glanced around for a possible route for escape.

"Enough foolishness…" Prince diamond ordered. He threw out his hand to stop Sailor moon from leave. She wasn't going to let him get the better of her. She raised her hands with wand in hand.

"Sailor Moon?" Sailor Mars gasped. She knew that Sailor moon was taking a risk. She wanted to stop Sailor Moon from hurting herself.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" Sailor Moon said with fire her in her eyes. She had to be strong for Darien's sake.

"No!" Tuxedo Mask cried out. He didn't want Sailor Moon in the line of fire. She had to protect the Moon Kingdom, buy at what cost. 

Sailor Acarida glanced down at the ground and said, "Dream Awaken!" 

Her pink bracelet glowed with a white light. She was combining her powers with sailor moon's powers. There was nothing standing in her way of helping Sailor moon. 

"What is she doing?" Sailor Mars asked as she tried to figure out why Sailor Acarida was helping out in this last minute effort. 

In a heart beat, both powers were added to the others powers to stop the monsters and Prince Diamond. Prince Diamond felt the incredible force of the planets pushing him and Jedite back to the dark world. Then, all was back to normal with the world. Sailor Moon glanced around to see Prince Diamond backing away from the ball court. Sailor Acarida breathed hard as she said, "it's done." 

It seemed like evil wasn't going to look on top of things when both Prince Diamond and Jadeite came back. The monsters had fallen back into weakened humans. In a minute after the fighting, the Serena found Steve sleeping on the ground, while Rei and Rio found both Dusty and Tinny on opposite sides of the ball court. 

"What a lot!" Rio sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. She didn't want to say another word until she found out what was going to happen next. "They sleep until after church is over and done with and the roast is on the table!" 

Rei giggled at what Rio said. She asked, "They loved to sleep." 

"Yea. That lot loves also to sing and stay up late to watch BCC TV four!" Rio added

shaking her head at her boyfriend. She bent down to be at Dusty's side. She said, "Come on…you! Wakey…wakey…" 

She began to shake Dusty's shoulder after she nearly placed a hand on both. 

"Give us a break…Rio?" Rei giggled. "You think he's going to wake up to that?" 

"Hey…you are missing the Goons!" Rio said. She had placed a hand on Dusty's shoulder. She was going to get the better of Dusty one way or another. 

"No way. Mum…hit the recorder!" he mumbled loudly as he waved his hand about. 

"I'll hit you…" Rio said.

Steve was now half awake and sitting up. He thought he was in another dream, but he had to the pain in his head. He yawned loudly, "He ain't goin' to listen you…" 

"Great…Spike Milligan has jumped into the boat from out of the water!" Rio snapped sourly. She shook her head. 

"What?" Serena said. She and Darien had walked over to where Rio, Dusty and Rei were. 

"Nothing!" Rio sighed. She placed a hand on Dusty's mouth. "I think this will work!" 

Steve half smirked as he stared through half closed eyes. He said, "He hates that!" 

"Yes. Yet, if an officer of the law happens to come here and finds him sleeping on the basketball court. He can get in trouble!" 

"Trouble is not his style!" Steve smirked sleekly. He watched as Dusty became annoyed with Rio's hand over his mouth.

Then, something happened in which Rio cringed. Dusty had decided to lick Rio's palm.

She let out a near shirk as she said, "Dusty! You are gross…eww!" 

She quickly whipped it off from Dusty's mouth. He smiled as he said, "You started it!" 

Dusty's memory was a little foggy asked he placed a hand up to head, "What happened?" 

"That's a question I would like to know too!" Steve said. 

"Where I am?" Tinny asked as he woke up with a jolt. He was off to the side of the court.

He was tossed like a ball when the fighting was happening. 

"At the ball court! Serena sighed. She had to piece together a story where the sailor scouts were involved. She and other Sailors was an old hand at story telling. She told him about the Sailor Senshi and the battle between the light and darkness that happened on the ball court. There was no hint of the true identity of Serena or the other sailor Senshi. 

Tenchi was studying hard for his tests in his classes at school. He was alone with Ryo-oh-ki in the house. He had his books and back pack in the front room. He sat at the coffee on the floor. The girls were either friends houses or at the library. He liked the quiet and the peace of mind when the girls were not there. It seemed like Yugi or Kagoto were watching his every movement. It was their studying him for a long time was going to some how pay off. The phone rang near the TV. He heard it and said, "Who could be calling me at this hour!"

Glancing over at the DVD player, it was going on nearly nine in the evening.

"Meow?" the little cabbit said. It was stretched out on the rug between the kitchen and the front room. It raised its head to watch Tenchi get up from the table. 

When Tenchi walked over to the phone, he didn't realize that he was being watched. There was a dark figure standing on the porch peering at the window. It was hidden very carefully the twilight of the coming night. It was Hotusuma watching every movement as Tenchi began to talk on the phone. Tenchi said after picking up the receiver, "Moshi-moshi!" 

"And the same to you!" a familiar voice spoke. It sounded old, yet there was a fire still in the voice that spoke years of commitment of protecting the planet. 

"Grampa?" Tenchi asked as he cradled the phone on his shoulder. "It's good to hear your voice!" 

"How are you, Tenchi?" Katsuhito asked. His voice sounded very cheerful. 

"Not bad. I have been studying!" Tenchi said. He wanted to walk around a little bit to stretch out his legs from the long hours of studying. 

"It's quiet…where are the girls?" Katsuhito asked, noting the complete peace over the phone. 

"They're out for the evening. I think school over here is about ready to wrap up for the year!" Tenchi sighed. He remembered the long hours of work between the girls. It seemed like Tenchi's worst night mare. 

"Oh..." Katsuhito said before taking a pause for a dramatic effect. "It's just you and Ryo-oh-ki?" 

Tenchi glanced over at the sleeping animal. "Yes. I hope tonight is going to be the beginning of a quiet summer…ha-ha!" 

A small firefly type happened to floated quietly into his front room with no hint of causing a rift in the room. It began to explore the room with all indent of looking for something special. It caught Tenchi's eye. He realized what it was. He said, "I think the fireflies are out early this year!" 

"They are really early?" Katsuhito asked. He wondered if Tenchi was pulling his leg. 

"After what I saw…anything is possible!" Tenchi sighed. He and the others had seen almost everything taken away from them. Slowly with strong hearts, they began to rebuild their broken lives. He had been through once again. He always managed with his friends to grow in his young life.

"I can understand," Katsuhito chuckled softly. "The reason why I called was about the sword of Juri!"

His voice seemed to change in to a one filled with concern. There were many attempts on Tenchi's life to get the sword. Katsuhito had always had feared the worst. He said, "I have a thought that both Yugi and Kagoto are there with you." 

"You are on the ball. Yugi has been in the back ground. I think she's afraid of Kagoto," Tenchi shook his head. "He will use her to get Sasami and nothing else to keep her happy." 

The firefly zipped past Ryo-oh-ki. It hovered over the nose of the little cabbit. Ryo-oh-ki felt the little puffs of air coming from just above his nose. It lazily opened its eyes to see who was there. "Meow?" the little cabbit replied in a sleepy manner.  
The bug did not even buzz to reply back. Ryo-oh-ki flicked its ear a little to make the bug move. The bug complied with the wishes of the little cabbit. It arose higher to take a better look at the front room. 

"Are sure about that?" Katsuhito asked. His voice now sounded fearful. He wished

Tenchi wasn't half way around the world. He had a feeling his was going to lose his grandson if the evil of the galaxy got a hold of the sword of Juri. 

"Yes…after what happened to Ayeka, Yugi has been in hiding. It seems like Kagota and

Yugi's followers had been working in league to get the sword!" 

The bug had floated back towards Tenchi. He was still talking on the phone. The bug started to grow in power. It folded and twisted in shape until it began to take the form of a glowing ball. It hummed in a clear tone. Tenchi had his back at the bug. He turned when he heard the humming. He gasped as he noticed the ball now hovering in front of him. He said, "What the…." 

"Tenchi?" Katsuhito asked. He heard over the phone lines the humming as well. He thought that the phone was having problems. "Are you there?" 

Something made Ryo-oh-ki wake up. It stretched and yawned as it tried to stand up on all four feet. The humming was starting to get on Ryo-oh-ki's nerve. It stared up at Tenchi when it spotted the ball. It began to hiss at the ball. Tenchi scanned the room for any signs of Yugi or Kagoto. He knew that they were behind this new creature. If was Washu, then he would have heard the friendly voice of her testing him on his skills. This was entirely different. He had a feeling evil was in the room. "Grampa…I'll call you back, later!" he said. He didn't make any excuses as he hung up the phone. 

"Now…show yourself!" Tenchi said as he stood his ground.

"Oh, that was too easy!" a deep voice purred over head. 

Tenchi was now out raged when he yelled, "HOTSUMA!" 

He had a feeling that it was either Hotsuma or Kagoto himself pulling the strings in this little raid. Hotsuma had teleported himself inside the room to Tenchi's horror. He hovered towards Tenchi. He was smirking as he said, "Nice house. Very American." 

"Cut the chatter!" Tenchi hissed, balling his fists. "You are not on a social call!" 

"What…Masaki. I can't give you a complement. How rude!" Hotsuma now landed ever so gently onto an area rug. His pushed back his glasses to get a better look at Tenchi's face. 

"I didn't invite you, so that makes you an unwelcomed guest!" Tenchi said. His blood was now boiling over. 

"Little boys should be gracious!" Hotsuma smiled, bearing his teeth a little. 

"What if I don't?" Tenchi growled. He had to use of his powers to summon the sword of Juria.

"Then, I have to teach you a lesson that you wouldn't forget!" 

The air hung thick in the room. Each one was capable of doing something drastic with their powers. Hotsuma had an idea of smoking out Tenchi by using electric attack. Yet, he did know about the power coming from the Light Hawk wings. He had to be very careful. 

"What are you waiting?" Tenchi said as he got into the fighting stance that his grandfather had taught since he was toddler. 

"You instance!" Hotsuma said, reaching up to push back a long strain of hair behind hoes ear with a short flick his hand. Feeling quite smug, he took his other hand to rise up towards the ceiling. He said in a sempai tone of voice, "Let's begin!" 

Tenchi had called up his sword with all of his powers. He glanced at Hotsuma. Hotsuma was just beginning to get charged a rather large power sphere from somewhere. He said,

"You are not taking my sword away from me." 

"And why not!" Hotsuma was smiling with evil in his eyes. He wasn't going to let Tenchi off that easily. 

"You are evil," Tenchi hissed as he took a swing at Hotsuma with his now sword. It quickly materialized. He took a bold hit with a large sweep of his arms. Aiming for Hotsuma's shoulders, Tenchi was now driven to the point of anger. He didn't want to kill or hurt someone else unless forced.

Hotsuma took a step back as if he was teasing Tenchi as he drive his point home with a large thrust of air. He was going to use air and electrical as one. He said, "Are you getting soft."

He threw the electrify ball at Tenchi. Tenchi's reflexes bounced, pulling him back toward the door in case it got hairy. He said, "What are you doing?" 

"Nothing," Hotsuma sneered. He couldn't wait for the sword to come to full power. It was like nothing he had seen before and since the day he fought against Tenchi. He knew about his power of the Jurian royal family owned. "I just need you to give me the sword. End of discussion!" 

"No!" Tenchi sounded firm in his beliefs. He wasn't going to hand over the sword to just anyone. His grandfather had entrusted the sword to him and him alone. "You can't break me of my will or take what are rightfully mines!" 

"Oh…" Hotsuma smirked. He waved his hand in mid air. Needles of electric bolted out of his signers. A couple shot through Tenchi's body. Tenchi screamed as Hotsuma said, "You will be singing another song soon!" 

Tenchi's mind was swimming in pain. He wanted to take down the monster that was standing in front of him. He had to come up with a plan and fast. He knew if the girls came back, they could be in for more than just plan danger. This fighting could take out the while neighbor hood. He was thinking of a plan when Ryo-oh-ki ran up to take a stab at attacking Hotsuma. It was going to break Hotsuma's concentration for only for a few minutes. The little cabbit leapt into the air with loud, "Meow!" 

Hotsuma waved his hand which sent Ryo-oh-ki flying. The little cabbit thudded against a wall. He hissed, "What a nuisance." 

Tenchi was on the floor. He placed a hand over his heart. He was still alive. "Great!" Tenchi thought, his gritted his teeth. "He will not give up that easily!" 

"Give me the sword!" Hotsuma barked. His face was now drawn into a cold unfeeling stare. 

"You are nuts!" Tenchi growled. He was trying to stand up. He was half sitting on his legs, wincing thought pain. 

"How dare you!" Hotsuma growled. He was deeply insulted by a mere boy. Hotsuma raised his hand as if he was going to hit Tenchi squarely on the head with a single blow from his hand.

"Yea…" Tenchi hissed. He had a small flicker of power. In a despite move, Tenchi tried to summon the power of his sword. "I hated when you took Ryoko away from me. I was a calming force for her." 

"She was a crude, witch who needed to be put in her place!" Hotsuma hissed. He was now hovering over Tenchi. 

"What?" Tenchi gasped. His blood was boiling. He was pinned in a corner. He had to fight back to throw Hotsuma out. "She is not like that!" 

"Rubbish!" Hotsuma grinned darkly. 

"You are nothing about a coward who is hiding behind a wall of power to look big. You and the others are no more than just pawns!" 

"Lair!" Hotsuma shot back at Tenchi. He rose balled up his hands into fists. He placed them together as if he was going to play a round of boxing. He threw a pouch into the air.

It sent Tenchi reeling as he felt the pouch knocking in the stomach. Tenchi wasn't going to give up that easily to evil. He was now lying on the floor, gasping for air. He had crumpled up after the first pouch. He rolled over to stop the pain. He had to get up and fight. It was the only thing he had left. His fingers on his left hand brushed past something small and light. Gasping, Tenchi glanced over to his hand. He was holding a sword hilt. It was his light sword. Somehow his sword came to him. His hand numbly reached out to take the hilt. He breathed hard, trying to image if his lower ribs were broke. 

"Good! You are finally seeing it my way!" Hotsuma sneered. He was now standing, nearly hovering over the battered warrior. 

Tenchi groaned as he tried to grasp the sword hilt. He had closed his eyes. It was seen he had played over and over in his many battles with evil. He wasn't going to give up without even trying. Bending over Tenchi, Hotsuma was in for a shock. He was tried to reach across to make a grab for the sword and was instantly thrown back. It was the sword trying to protect itself and Tenchi. It knew something wasn't right. Hotsuma wasn't from Juri or the royal linage. It was the only time that the sword fought back. Or was it? Tenchi had a strong bond with the sword. He was still awakening enough for the sword to react with his mind. He buzzed with energy. Believing the sword was reviving him, Tenchi tried to stand up once again. He quickly balled up his other hand into a fist and threw it into the air. Hotsuma wasn't going to be let a mere boy punch him in the face. He forced himself backwards as quickly as he could. He didn't realize that Tenchi's  
pouch had a kick behind it.

"You fool!" Hotsuma hissed, feeling the frontal attack smashing into his chin.

"Right back at you!" Tenchi winced. He had somehow crawled backwards with the use of one free arm. "Never let your guard down…even for a split second….my grandfather told me as I trained night and day!" 

Tenchi raised his hand with the sword. He started to levitate off the ground. He was going to be thrown out of the room with one sweeping ark of Hotsuma's hand. He tried to scramble as his limbs made a failed attempt to move out of Hotsuma's way. He didn't want to be in this situation. Yet, his sword had other plans. The power from the sword instantly started to work on Tenchi's wounds. Then, he righted himself up in a standing passion. He glared at Hotsuma. Hotsuma said, "What in the world are you doing!"  
"Prepare yourself!" Tenchi huffed. He brought in front of him the Light Hawk wings and the sword together. 

"Yea…right!" Hotsuma smirked. 

In an instant lighting, Tenchi summoned his sword with the Light Hawk wings surrounding his body. He was now a warrior of the sword of Juri.  
"

What the…" the blond snorted. He felt the heat coming from something fanatic. 

"Yes. This is my true power. I, Tenchi Maski will take you down!" Tenchi barked out. His anger was now at the surface. The Light hawk wings glowed brighter. 

Outside was all peaceful and quiet. There was a dog barking out side, somewhere in the neighborhood. Then, all was shattered by the loud noise of a door being nearly smashed out its frame. Hotsuma was now scrambling, trying to get a foot hold as he tried to fight off the now angered Tenchi. He wanted to use his powers to kill Tenchi in a quick, but painful manor. Tenchi was in his own when he threw off the blows given to by Hotsuma. He didn't try to ever. He had to keep his balance and pose in check. His fighting style was his own, yet it felt like Kazotohoto was with him. He and Hotsuma were now fighting on the porch. Hotsuma had his own sword. It was close to the sword of juri, yet this had a darker tint to the blade. He tried to over power Tenchi with a fast work. He had to stop Tenchi. Yet, Tenchi was an equal with every stroke. Tenchi didn't forsake his training for nothing. He remembered what his mother told him before she died. She told him he was a strong son born between the love and honor of two worlds. He had to live up to her words of love and hope. They fought as if they were in a dance of strength. Tenchi was pushed into a corner by Hotsuma. He nearly tripped over a small shovel that Sasami had left after she was done with some planting. Sasami was one thing that Tenchi deeply loved as a sister. He had to keep her safe. He was also attached to Ayeka was well. He had a more formal understanding about her. Yet, he wanted to protect her as well. He pushed out in a sweeping ark the sword with both hands. He tried to move the monster over. Hotusma skidded backwards to avoid being slashed by the blade. He nearly lost his own balance as he didn't realize his own footing was nearing the steps of the porch. He became aware of the corner he had backed himself into. He had to stop fighting in order to save face. He knew Tenhci was a strong foe. He did have a trick up his sleeve. There was a smaller knife hidden in Hotsuma's sleeve. Tenchi knew something was up. He tried to figure out what Hotsuma had in mind set. There was no way; Hotsuma was going to back down that easy. He had a small electrical devise that he use in pushing back people how got too close to him. It looked like a small cube of sorts. With a small squeeze on a black surface, which the cube was nearly covered in…Hotsuma could throw Tenchi back into the kitchen. 

"I have a feeling that he was going to use that Katago had cooked up," Tenchi said. He had to be on guard to see what he was in store from his enemy. 

"Little boy…" Hotsuma said as he blindly went through his pocket to find the cube. "I have a surprise for you." 

"I don't want it!" Tenchi snapped back. He took another sweep at Hotmusa's side. He knew that there was a weak point on a person's side. If he only he could get to it. He lunged off to the right of him before taking a direct hit with the sword. 

Hotsuma felt the light blade nearly grazing him. He winced before pulling back. How careless he was as he tried to find the cube. He over calculated his movements when he was going try to program the cube. He finally pulled back with a small red scar on his right. Hotsuma had straggled backwards. He placed a hand on the injured part. He winced at the after effecting. He growled at his misfortunate. Tenchi didn't want to smile just get. He to get Hotsuma out of the way before the girls came back. This was the first and only time that he had fought against Hotsuma. 

"If I don't get rid of him soon, then…girls would be in trouble. I can't afford to loose," Tenchi thought. He pushed a little harder this time. With the sword, he lunged forward once again. He could feel every ounce of his being pushed to the last single second. 

Then, he had to blink as he pushed himself against Hotsuma's body. Hotsuma one only one choice in his mind was to teleport out of the way. The blond did in a heart beat before he even saw the blade slicing through him, fell backwards. Then, in the same instant he thought of teleporting out of the séance before even feeling the blade. One minute he was on the porch, and then…Hotsuma was standing on the sidewalk leaning up towards the house. He gritted his teeth at the sharp pain coming from his side. Placing a hand up to the pain, he felt a little sting and stickiness. He was cut in a very tiny, but effective way. The small cut meant that Tenchi could be aiming for a weak spot to bring Hotsuma down.

"What did you do?" he gasped. 

"I was trying to defend my house. You are not invited in!" Tenchi snapped. His sword was now pointing to the ground. It hummed with power. "I had to teach you a lesson!" 

"Fool!" Hotsuma growled. He backed away, nearly straggling on his feet. He was truly taken by surprise. He knew the wound was small, but very costly. He had to leave and rethink his idea on now to attack Tenchi.

"You are not thinking straight!" a voice said in Hotsuma's ears. 

"Uh?" Hotsuma said as he glanced around the area to see who was talking. At first, he believed it was Yugi, playing him for a fool.  
"You look like a fool who was kicked in the head!" the voice said. 

Hotsuma glanced up at a figure dressed in a dark greenish-grey uniform with a long dark blond pony tail standing over him. He shook his head for a minute. Believing it was still Tenchi or even Yugi; Hotsuma was not going to let his guard down. "Don't play me…I hate to be toyed with!" he snapped, lifting his arms above his head. Yet, the figure was too quick for him to catch. 

"What are you trying to do?" the figure asked. After an insult of teleportation the figure was now standing at Hotsuma's feet. 

"I am trying to do is getting you out of my hair!" Hotsuma growled. Then, he wondered out loud, "Who are you?" 

"I am what you are!" the figure said. Then, it bent down to give Hotsuma a better look.

"An evil agent. I come from the Negaverse!" 

"What…the Negaverse!" Hotsuma uttered loudly as he tried to think what this person was saying. 

Tenchi's hackles were up. He didn't want any more evil on his door step. He darted over to the porch edge. He had still the sword in his hands. He said, "Another person who wants to take over the world!" 

"I am called Zoysite!" the figure said in a quiet, dark tone. Zoysite bowed slightly. She said, "I was told by my leader a Lady Galaxia about a young girl who controls a great deal of power. Is it true?" 

"Great another lackey!" Tenchi thought. He had to stay focused on the situation at hand. He wasn't going to let another one of a dark minion slip from his hands. He wanted to fight them both before they deiced to turn on him. He inched the edge of the porch end. He held on to the sword hilt as he gritted his teeth. "Get out!" he ordered, feeling his blood boiling. Zoysite gasped, feeling like she had to give Tenchi a lesson in manors. Then, it bent down to give Hotsuma a better look.

"An evil agent. I come from the Negaverse!"

"What…the Negaverse!" Hotsuma uttered loudly as he tried to think what this person was saying.

Zoysite bent down to help out Hotsuma get to his feet. He was now wanted to kill Tenchi. He didn't want to have a little boy whip the crap out of him. He said, "I hate little boys. They are such a pain!" 

"I can understand you…" Zoysite said as she helped Hotsuma to get to feet. "I have a problem with little girls!" 

"Oh," Hotsuma's eyebrow shot up in surprise. He didn't know that evil came in different forms. He had a feeling that she wasn't a one to be totally trusted. She had to face either Kagato or Yugi before making his own judgments. He had to get to know Zoysite first. There were too many questioners that needed to be answered. "Children need to be put their places!" 

"Hey…I'm not a child!" Tenchi protested. He had his sword's power nearly turned off.  
Zoysite sprung in a heart beat on her heels to glare at Tenchi. In an instant, Zoysite threw out her one hand and barked out, "Zoy!" 

Tenchi was tossed back in a sweeping motion. He landed with a thud on the doorframe. He groaned as the wind was knocked clean out of his lungs. He did a second landing on the porch floor. 

"What an annoying little pest!" she huffed. Then, she folded her arms over her chest. She wanted to put an end to Tenchi's whining. 

"Don't you know where your place is…boy!" Hotsuma said as he turned to see Tenchi slouched in the doorframe. 

"Have you grown tired of people who get in your way?" Zoysite asked she glanced at Hotsuma. 

"Yes. I have…" he snorted. He was upset with Ryoko in the past and with Tenchi in the present. He wanted to feel like he was when Ryoko was a space pirate and they had free rein on robbing banks. "I wish I wasn't in a rut. I have order to do!" 

"You do, eh?" Zoysite purred, giving Hotsuma a slide long glance. 

"Yugi wanted Sasami!" 

"And what else. There is another layer to this conversation!" Zoysite asked with an evil smile. 

It took Hotsuma a minute to think about what Katago wanted as well. There was a battle between Yugi and Kagato since the evil scientist had reawakened the little hyperkinetic girl from her slumber months earlier. He had served her many years ago. This was a new twist. Yugi didn't want to be a second fiddle to Kagato. They were both on equal terms of powers and abilities. There was a chink in Yugi's armor. There was a small, but powerful thing called friendship between Sasami and Yugi. Hotsuma knew about it. He had to be very careful with the information about the two girls.

"I can see that you need more than just my help!" Zoysite teased.

"Don't play for a fool like this one did. I am just following orders…that's all!" Hotsuma growled. 

Feeling the getting now where on her mind, Zoysite said, "What about if I talk to this Kagato. I know someone who can help you and your master!" 

"What if I say you couldn't," Hotsuma said. 

"Then, he would be a fool!" another voice said. This was a voice without a body. A quick glance around to see that Tsugaru standing in front of Hotsuma, his face was cold in expression.

Hotsuma asked, "Why are you here?" 

"Do see if you needed help?" the young man with sandy blond hair asked. 

"Tenchi is too good. He has been training even through, his grandfather Yoshio isn't here!" Hotsuma snarled. His anger was up and he didn't want Tsugaru getting his goat. He was now walking towards the Maski boy who was now trying to move up into a standing pose. He knew that Tenchi was a strong willed man. 

"What are you going to about do that?" Ryoko's voice could be heard down the street. 

"I don't have time for this!" Hotsuma said as he tried to think of a way to leave. He felt his welcome was overstayed. He didn't want anyone else on his secret. He wanted to have Yugi happy and give Kagato a battle on his own terms. He could sense his own desire of having the Light Hawk sword for his very own. 

"Are you willing to talk to my leader?" Zoysite asked. She had to curb her enthusiasm. 

"I'm not sure…" Tsugaru said, raising a sleeve up to his lips. His smile was sly as his eyes narrowed in evil delight. 

"Then, what shall I say to my leader?" Zoysite said, catching a glimpse of a willing ear in Tsugaru. 

"I can listen when no one else wants to!" Tsugaru purred darkly as he leapt backwards towards a tree branch. He felt the edge of the branch on the back of his feet. He stared at two oncoming figures. One was dressed in a long t-shirt and cut off jeans and had a long white pony tail. It was defiantly Ryoko. The other was dressed in a jumper with little pink shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a bun. It was Kiyone. They were walking up the sidewalk towards the house. He knew that all three where in grave trouble if spotted by other one of the girls. He knew that he and Hotsuma were caught, and then they had to spill the beans about what was on Kagato's mind.

"I'll be here waiting!" Zoysite said. 

"When will that be?" the young man asked. 

"In the darkness of the moon!" Zoysite said. Then, she quickly disappeared. 

"You will be in the darkness of the moon?" Tsugaru murmured softly. 

Then, he disappeared with Hotsuma on his heels. 

The girls came up to the path. Ryoko was hit with an easy feeling. It was like some one was there to harm Tenchi. She started to run towards the porch. There was evidence of a battle that was still on the porch. She glanced adorn to see if Tenchi was O.K. he wasn't when her eyes noticed his slumped body at the doorframe. Ryoko was shocked to see he in that state. She called out as she ran up the stairs, "Tenchi?"  
There was no response from Tenchi. 

"Tenchi?" she said, feeling the word nearly catching in her throat. 

There was murmur coming from him. Slowly, he opened his eyes to feeling the pain in the back his head. His blurry vision tried to focus on Ryoko. He said, "Is that you?" 

She breathed a sigh of really as she uttered, "You are O.K.?" 

The pain coming from the back his head was a sigh that he took more than just a kick on the head. His neck and upper back throbbed as well as his head. "I'll be O.K. in a day. I was attacked by someone…" 

"Tenchi?" Keyone asked as she noticed Tenchi's body trying to move from its spot.  
"Take it easy. Tenchi…let me help you!" Ryoko said gently. She tried to help Tenchi to staid up on his two feet. 

Keyone was very aware of an evil present that Tenchi was fighting with. It was the years of being a Galaxy Police officer she had gone thought, it made her to develop a sixth sense about her surroundings. She said to Ryoko, "Once we are inside. I have to talk to you!" 

Ryoko became a curious. She asked, "About what?" 

"Can't tell you here!" the raven hair GP officer uttered with a very troubled gaze in her eyes.

Mara was sitting on picnic table in the Waterworth Park. She looked at the duck pond a few hundred feet away. She did have a minute a sweet revenge on Bell dandy if only for a minute. She tried to understand why her plan backfired some terribly in her face. She had to retool her evil plans and tried once more. She had caught Urd on many weak attempts. Urd was half demon, half goddess. That was an easy porthole. Mara felt warmed by the mere thought of reloading a trap on Urd. She knew that there was nothing stronger than bond between the two sisters. Urd at times over protected Belldandy. Yet when it came to Keiichi, then there was the catch, Urd seemed to slack off from the sisterly protection of her love for her sister. In fact, she tried to put her big nose where it wasn't supposed to be. "Keiichi Morisato!" Mara thought to herself as visions of Belldandy's human boyfriend danced in her mind's eye. "What a nice little treat if I caught him!" 

"What if you did!" a voice purred into her ears. 

Mara nearly fell over and off of the picnic table. She landed on her feet in a split second. What was looking back at her was a total shock. A youngish man with short red hair stared back her with a twisted smile. His plan outfit wasn't a clear sign that he owed for the dark moon armies of Galaxia. He looked like he could be just a jogger out on a run. Mara quickly sprang to her feet and glared at the red-haired man. She hissed as her fists were at her sides, "Who are you?" 

"A no body!" he said, taking every word in a lazy pace. 

"What?" Mara growled. She knew that he was trying to chat her up. There was something called a pervert she would call him. Then, she thought, "He just asking for it!" 

"You seem like a very evil and beautiful creature. It would be fun if we jointed our powers together," he said. 

"I am a demon. Listen buddy…I don't know what you are aware of this…I can hurt you in matter of seconds!" she growled for a second time. 

"Easy…kitty," he smirked, rising a hand to show her he was not going to hurt her in any way. 

"He comes up to me…calls me a kitty. What in the world is he on!" she thought. She was going to punch him out with half of her demonic powers. 

"Before I go into detail…my name is Rubis!" he nodded slightly. He held out a hand in a sign of twisted often.  
"I don't like this…please, Mara play it cool!" she thought to herself. Then, she said, "Why are you here. Are you looking for trouble?"

"No!" he smiled. He felt his hand being slapped back by Mara's own. He reached over in a quick movement with the other hand. He was now clutching at a hand of a demon. He felt her power coming from her hand. She was indeed what Galaxia had predicted before he was assigned to the new quest. He knew he had to be very careful if he wanted to snag this demon. He said, "I'll be to the point. You are a demon…right!" 

"Yes," she snapped, turning her face away from his gaze. "I want to leave here. I don't like waiting my time. I hope that he is short." 

"You want a typical goddess?" he tried to get her attention. 

"Uh?" she gasped. His statement was totally to the point and it floored her to the end.

"How?" she shot back her gaze right into Rebus's eyes. She didn't want to speak. She had an idea he was reading her mind. 

Rebus blinked when he shrugged his shoulders, "Word does get around!" 

"Shoot!" she breathed. She wondered if he was pulling her leg. Or was it someone, somewhere heard the rumors from the demons who were laughing at her, behind her back. She was like that herself. Now the tables are turned. She had to face the humiliation of defeat. "Yes…" she said as she took one step backwards. "The name of the Goddess is Belldandy!" 

"Very pretty name. What is yours?" he asked, his eyes were trying to prod into her mind. 

"It's Mara!" she huffed. "Do you want anything else? Are you happy now!" she felt like turning around to walk away from this person. 

"Mara, nice!" Rebus said as he tried to pour on the charm. 

"Look. I'm not wanting to talk, I'm not hoping for a friendship and I hope you are not going to sale me anything!" she said before turning around to face towards a small patch of basketball court. 

"Oh," he smirked. He thought, "She is fast. Yet, there is a chink in the armor." 

"What are you grinning about? That is really freaky!" Mara growled. She knew that he was not normal. 

"You want to see how far you can go!" he asked with a hurt tone. He turned to walk away. He wanted to head towards the duck pond. He knew she was going to be hard nut to crack, yet she did have a soft spot.  
"What are you thinking?" she thought. She watched as he walked. She could feel power coming from him. Yet, he was not a demon. He appeared to be very much human. Yet, where was his power, inside of him or was it something else. Someone was controlling the strings. "Wait!" she gasped.

"What are you doing…you fool!" she thought to herself. She had to find out what was so strong in him. "He just a human…not even your type of creature. Don't' be stupid and give him what he wants." 

"You want to have this Belldandy turn from innocent goddess first class to a full blooded demon?" he asked. 

His statement now floored her. She wanted to stop thinking and really listen to what he was talking about. He didn't appear to be lying. His words spoke of a truth that she was searching for a long time. She turned slowly around to face him, her eyes in a shocked appearance. She asked, "Have you been reading my mind?" 

"Maybe," he shrugged. He walked up other. He was close that he could see her eye, so dark and brooding they were he knew she was caught hook, line and sneaker. "Word does get around about taking what is rightfully ours!" 

"Rightly ours?" she gasped. Placing a hand up her chin, she had to give it some deeper thought. 

He smiled, liking where this conversation was going. He said, "Come with me to the edge of the park. I have something to show you!" 

"Why?" she asked. She had a tight grip on her feelings. Yet, she was losing out on her fears. Was she being lulled into a false sense of security? 

"I can't show you here. I'm afraid that it's too big!" he said spreading out his hands. It was like he was holding a large rubber ball in front of him. He wasn't going to play any sort of trick on Mara. Mara was just going to agree with him before he let someone spring the trap on her. 

"What?" she snapped. Her emotions swung back and forth like a bird on a perch. She wanted to know what was going on. She asked, "This is an opened space. It's a park. You have checked it out. It's huge!" 

"I can understand that. You didn't get the meaning of what I was speaking of. There is not an idea that I can't discuss with you here. It's just my mistress needs you to come with me some where else!" he shrugged with a sigh. 

"Where?" she asked, she was growing very upset with Rebus. He wanted to pull her so far that she was going to crack under pressure of being a demon. If it would happen, she had to bright out the full power of her demon side. She always appeared to be human. Yet, she didn't want to be found out by Bell dandy when she was trying to find Urd.  
"You want to come?" he teased. He dropped his hands to his sides. Walking towards Mara, Rebus said, "She's waiting!"

"Who?" asked Mara in a befuddled voice? Wondering who this mysterious person was she was now at a stand still. "I want to know!" 

"Follow me!" Rebus said, waving his one hand slightly. A black hole appeared in the space in front of them. 

Mara didn't want to go at first. She was rather reluctantly as she stared at the black hole. She had to grit her teeth and go. She very slowly ambled towards the black hole, not knowing if she was going to be kidnapped or not. 

It was the warmest day in the year so far. Rio was at the radio station in Alliance, helping out Betty Roberts with a stack of scripts. The two were set up at a basement room with all the peace and quiet they needed. Rio was typing away at the computer while Betty was proofing the print outs. It seemed very normal until the lights blew out. Betty said, "What happened?" 

"Don't know, Miss Roberts. Maybe someone hit something. You know this town is growing with the college!" Rio said. 

Giving a little salt to the situation, Miss Roberts had to say, "The town isn't that big. Remember I was in Pittsburgh before the storm that brought us here!" 

"O.K." Rio sighed. Feeling a strange emotion in the pit of her belly, Rio sat in the stillness and dark of the room. She knew if she remembered hard enough, the memory of the flash light could come back to her. She asked Miss Roberts that they still had a flash light in the desk. 

"Hold on! I'll try to find out," Betty said as she started to grope around for the desk drawer handle. 

"Where is it?" Rio asked. "I have one, but it's in my fanny pack and that's locked up in Minster Sherwood's office!" 

"Wonderful!" Betty sighed. She knew that when the lights were out, anyone in the basement had a hard time getting around. "We just have to sit here and wait for somebody to come and save us!" 

"The only problem, really…Miss Roberts is we were going through with the proofing.

Right?" Rio asked. She blindly placed a hand under her chin, "We had the computer up and running!"

Thinking on the same lines as Rio, Betty gasped to her horror, "No…" 

"Yes!" Rio gasped. "The lap top was running not on the battery pack!" 

Trying to reason with the situation in hand, Betty groaned a little, "We have to come up with scripts at the last minute!" 

Thinking of the most impossible task in the world being faced, Rio asked, "Can we do it?" 

Being an old pro of putting together a show on the air with seconds to spare, Betty smiled, "Yes. I have been in tighter situations before. Don't worry. We had old records of past shows that we used one time when I walked out! I think we do have a couple unaired shows in the library. I just have to find them!" 

"You remind me of my Uncle Ziegfeld! He had tons of early drawings! He never had a minute of real family time until they had my cousin Olivia. She put his painting on hold. He sold some of his drawings to cover a few months of not painting. He made a killing." 

"Meow!" a small voice said. 

"What?" Betty asked. She couldn't look around to see who was there. 

"Meow!" the small voice repeated. 

Then, Rio nearly screamed when she felt something rub against her legs. She had to reach down with one hand to see if there was animal down at her legs. Letting her fingers get use to groping around, Rio said, "Here kitty!" 

"What are you doing?" Betty asked. She was wondering what was getting into Rio. 

"I think we have a visitor!" Rio said. She felt something soft and fuzzy rubbing against her hand. She asked, "Are they stray cats roaming around here!" 

"I have seen maybe one!" Betty said. Then, she slowly pushed her chair back to in order to see if she could find a flashlight in the desk. She groped around for a desk drawer handle. She nearly in a blind attempt found something sharp hitting her hand. She cried out, "Ow!" 

"Miss Roberts!" Rio said. She was becoming concern for her boss's safety. "Are you O.K.?" 

"I have been bite by the desk!" Betty huffed, drawing her hand away from the desk.  
A set of gentle paw pats hit the desk were Rio was sitting at. She was a little frightened to see the cat had jumped up on to the desk. She said, "Nice kitty!"

"Meow!" the cat said. Then, the cat leaned forward and whispered, "Are you all right?"

"Luna?" Rio gasped she realized who it was. Luna and Artemis had snuck into the radio station grounds near the collage. Serena and some of the scouts where checking out the main campus of Mount Union. They wanted to know where Rio was working for the summer.

"What was that, Rio?" Betty asked.

"Oh…it's nothing!" Rio lied. She had to cover up the fact of Luna being there at the station basement. "I think this kitty looks like the kitty at my house…her name is Luna!"

"Meow!" the cat repeated for a third time.

"Please, you cat…hush!" Rio hissed.

"What?" Betty asked a puzzled tone.

"I think this one is a talker. It loves to put in the last word!" Rio uttered through clutched teeth. Bending closer to get a word in edgewise, she said, "What's wrong?"

"We have a feeling about something!" Luna said. Luna was now face to face with Rio. She had to keep a low voice before she was discovered by Betty. She knew that it was extremely dangerous for any of the Sailor Senshi to be found out by the dark forces of Galaxia.

"What about?" Rio asked. She knew that Galaxia was starting to retool her idea of combat.

"You are in danger. I saw Prince Diamond with a person who looked like Professor Tomeo," Luna gasped so softly that it sounded like a meow instead of human speech.

"Great?" Rio huffed.

"What was that?" Betty asked. She glanced at Rio. She groped at a desk drawer handle.

"Nothing. The cat is very cute…that's all!" Rio lied again.

Betty went back on her search for a flash light. Her hand slowly felt a long piece of wood. She believed it was the desk drawer handle.

"It's like this…Rei and Serena were getting a walking tour of the campus housing when they saw Prince Diamond. He was dressed as a student!"

"That's all we need. Rei did have a feeling about 'im!" Rio said. She couldn't see where she was going to go if she could get out of the room. The basement was entirely blacked out. 

Still looking for the flashlight, Betty asked, "Who are you talking about, Rio!" 

"The janitor!" Rio said. She had to think of something, yet, this time it was the truth. "He must know about the black out down here!" 

"I bet he knows. It's going to take some time before we see any sort of…" Betty was still rummaging through the desk drawer. Then, she felt something cold and metical. She groped around after she had opened the draw all the way. She pulled out a long tube of metal. She said, "H-ha!" 

"What's that, Miss Roberts?" Rio asked. 

"It's the flashlight," Betty said as she still pulled at the long tube of metal. She realized that someone had placed a long flashlight in the desk. She had to pull a little harder until she found a long flashlight in her hands. She said, "I don't believe what I'm seeing!" 

"I would like too!" Rio said. 

"Meow!" Luna added. She wondered with Rio if there was enough power in the batteries. 

"Let me turned it on!" Betty said as she fingered the flashlight to see if she could find the switch. After a minute of blindly groping, she found the switch. The light came on and it nearly blinded Luna. The flashlight was pointed at the cat. Feeling a little sorry for the cat, Betty said, "Sorry…there kitty!" 

"Meow!" Luna huffed. She tried to shake off the spots from her eyes. She tried not to walk around until the spots were gone. She stood on the desk, trying to readjust her eyes to the dark once again. 

"Poor little baby!" Rio said as she noticed the stunned cat. She picked it up in her arms. She began to stroke its head. "You didn't like that…little baby!" 

Luna hated to be picked up and teased. She was being coy about the idea of being treated like a baby doll. She hissed, "We don't' have time for this!" 

"Are you sure! I can't see a thing!" Rio said. 

"What was that?" Betty asked. She was aiming the flash light at different points of the room.

"I can't see a thing!" Rio smiled weakly. She tried to hold on to Luna.

Betty beamed the light to different spots of the room. The light bounced all over the room until the light fell on the door. Rio and Betty nearly jumped out of the chairs. They said in unison, "Door!"

"It's about time!" Luna thought.

"I'll keep the flash on the door knob. You go over there and open the door!"

"O.K." Rio said as she held Luna other arms. She stood up from the chair. Walking over to the door, Rio placed the cat on one shoulder. She said, "Now…kitty doesn't scratch me. O.K."

Luna just purred. She was use to traveling around on someone's shoulder. She watched as Rio glanced at the beam of light. A large golden glow came form the door way. It was the door knob in the spot light. Rio carefully opened the door after groping around the lights to see where the knob was.

"There!" Rio sighed. She noticed the even darker spilling out of the small beam of light. She remembered a very scary story about a strange house that the dark had turned people inside out. "That's really creepy!"

"Meow!" Luna added.

"I don't' want to be stuck here. Remember we have a little thing called a dead line!" Betty said as she glanced at the shadows being cast on the walls.

"Yes ma'am…I can understand what you are saying, but I like better to be in the complete darkness. Then, I can feel myself around," Rio uttered. She wanted to push her bangs out of her eyes. She knew how to do play blind man's bluff for years.

"Uh…" Betty gasped, trying to figure out what her assent was speaking. She heard stories from Rio about her younger years. "What are you talking about?"

"When I was a kid…we would play a game called blitz. We had fun as we exploder history. We were so young then," Rio reflected.

"Oh…when was that?" Betty said.

"I was eight or nine. I was about eleven when we quit. It got boring!"

"Then, when you do start grow up?"

Reflecting, Rio said, "I don't remember. Everything was such a blur. It happened when I was ten, yet I have very little memoires of being thirteen. Ten was the year when my uncle started to gain so much fame over here that it scared him!"

"He was well known before!"

"Yea, sort of!" Rio sighed. "Yet, someone bought a painting for a movie or show on the telly and before we knew it...bang he was toast of the town!"

"Look, doesn't stand around, you need to find out what is going on outside. I have a feeling were going be stuck here for a while!" Betty said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Rio nodded.

Rio did find outside of the room a very small pocket flash light. It was hanging on a hook that the other flash light was shining on. She picked it up and found it to be a non battery flashlight. She picked it up from the hook. She told Miss Roberts about it. Betty instructed her to use it in order to find out where the stair case was. She asked Luna, "What's really going on, Lu!"

They walked down the hall until they had found a large wooden staircase near a wall.  
"Prince Diamond seemed to be a little bent on kidnapping Serena," Luna meowed softly. She glanced at the large staircase. She wanted to be let go of. Then, with her own cat eyes, Luna could make up the stairs a lot easier.

"He does have a fixation for her. Why…I tried to bug the notion out of Serena couple of times!"

"He is from the future. When Reenie was still so young. It all ties in with the fact the Black Moon Kingdom and Silver Moon crystal that Reenie wears. It had very dangerous out comes."

"Yea, Lu…I heard about the distraction of the Moon Kingdom from Mina and Rei. Then, Ami clued me on the fact the silver moon crystal around Reenie's neck is really the Silver Moon Crystal of the future. I just don't' get why Serena can't open up to the fact it wasn't really her fault or Reenie's. It just happened."

Rio waited for a minute before climbing up the stair case. She didn't want to get in the way of Luna climbing up the stairs as well. She tried to stay focused as she climbed up the stairs. She asked, "What else happened. Why the Black Moon kingdom attacked the Moon Kingdom?"

"Power!" Luna sighed. She remembered how Serena was crushed as the Sailors had to witness the transformation of Reenie to Wicked Lady.

"It figures!" Rio sighed, rolling her eyes. 

"And one other thing," Luna said very cautiously. 

"What's that?" 

"Prince Diamond was over infatuated with Serena when Serena was the Queen in the future!" 

After a minute of thinking, Rio said, "Let's focus on the here and now. I have a feeling we will need help from somewhere!" 

"You are so different from Serena and a couple of the others that you could be a good leader if something should go wrong with Sailor Moon!" 

"Naw!" Rio sighed, after on hearing the used from Luna. "I am not a very good leader. I end up always in a heated yelling match!" 

Luna smiled a little as she reflected on Rei and Serena's relationship. "You get in to heated yelling matches. Where were you when Rei was screaming at Serena for not studying!" 

"Sticking me fingers in me ears…what else?" Rio mused. Slowly both Luna and Rio came to the end of the stair case. Rio didn't like to round out the conduct of a strange place with out know if she was going to a trap. Rio flashed the light down a long and narrow hallway. Luna went first she didn't want Rio to walking into any possible danger. Rio began to walk down the hall herself. She could hear noises as she came up to another doorway. She called out for Luna to come back. The little black cat turned around and carefully waked back. 

Luna glanced at up Rio, trying to avoid the flash light, "What's wrong?" 

"I'm not sure. I thought I heard a noise!" 

"A noise?" Luna gasped a little puzzled. She realized Rio had still pretty sharp senses after the temporary blindness. Luna had her work cut out for her when she was with Rio. Rio pretty much stuck to the game plan when it came to fighting the monsters which Galaxia had thrown at the Sailor Senshi. Then, her cat ears picked up the noise. "It's old building. Remember there will always be noises in old buildings. You said yourself you live in an old farm house half the time!" 

"Yea…I know it. I wouldn't trade anything for that old dump of a sod roof and post World War one walls," Rio sighed as she reflected for a minute of her Uncle Anthony's beloved old farm house. 

"What do you think of that noise?" Luna asked, her tail switching a little with excitement. She knew something was going to happen.

"I think it's just the pipes. They click like that when they are hot," Rio shrugged her shoulders, thinking of nothing out of the norm of the noise.

There was sound of a thud coming from somewhere down the hallway. Both Luna and Rio were taken aback. Luna was going to be the first one to investigate. Leaving nothing to chance, Rio had to be on the alert with her communicator on stand by. Luna carefully walked towards the noise. All was still and very quiet as she reached up towards noisemaker. She noticed a light coming from a door near the hallway. This was no ordinary light. At first Luna didn't want to put pass a solider in Galaxia's army trying to set up a commutations point where one of the sailors worked.

"And what's that?" Luna questioned Rio in a skeptical voice.

"It could be a box. Remember this is a basement. People like to stack boxes one too many!" Rio sighed, shrugging shoulders.

A loud squeak like a large metal door rang out through the hallway. Both Luna and Rio nearly jumped out of their skins. They tried to glance at each other before speaking to each other. Then, the door slammed into a wall. The noise was too much for Luna to bear. She ran towards Rio for safety.

Rio felt little cat paws running up her feet. She asked "What on earth got you all spooked!"

"That big bang!" Luna said, nearly clinging to Rio. She wanted to nearly jump onto Rio's shoulders. She wondered if Rio was scared. "Did that frightened you?"

"Yea…it sounded really…really…really loud!" Rio gasped. She had to get a hold of herself. She didn't like to be on the receiving end on new surprises. "I hope that door was just the coal off.

"The coal off?" Luna asked, complete stunned. She had heard Rio talking of old timey things. She knew Rio loved history in general.

"Yes, that was the place they put coal. You are a moon kitty," Rio said as she tried to change the subject.

"Will you stop that. You are worst off than Serena when you do that!" Luna ordered, very much miffed at the princess from Arcadia.

"I can't help it. It's in me persistently!" Rio said, trying to sound cool.

"What am I going to do with you and the others?" Luna sighed. She wanted to see if she and Rio could find their way to the main floor. She ordered Rio to follow her down a hallway. They walked slowly with the flash light in hand.

It seemed like Rio and Luna were going to make it without any sort of problems. Rio was thinking in the back her mind of calling up the electrics company to see what could be done with the power. Then, she would find where Serena and the others were. She hoped her help wasn't too late in coming. Rio walked down the hall with Luna following behind her.

"Stop!" a voice ordered Rio in the darkness.

Rio glanced around to see if there was anyone there. The lightflash beam danced wildly around as Rio tried to see who was there in front of her. She was standing so still that the only thing was moving was her breathing. 

A pair of footsteps could be heard in down the hallway. A small beam of light bounced along the walls as if it was a mating call. The light came up to Rio and Luna. Rio blinked back the light as she asked, "permission to speak?" 

It was a few seconds later after giving the person who was holding the second flash light.

Then, the person said, "Permission granted!" 

Rio was fast as she thought as she spoke, "Who are you?" 

"That's what I wanted to ask of you, miss!" the voice said. The voice sounded male and young. 

Rio tried to figure out by the outlines of coming from the flash light. There was a faint grayish color which seemed to be blocked out by the light. Rio believed it was the coulur of a shirt of sorts. She had no idea who was this person. She said very humbly, "My name is Rio. I am Rio Winter-haven Lyonstone." 

Rio's last name struck a cord with the young man. He nearly stopped gathering information on Rio in his mind. He had to give Rio a second look. "Lyonstone…how do you spell it?" 

"L-y-o-n-s-t-o-n-e!" Rio said. Her eyes were turning into a shy glance. "It's very old English!" 

"Yes…it sounds like it!" the young man said as he raised a hand up to his chin. He thought for a minute. He didn't have much time to be goofing off with a girl who could be anyone. He asked, "Do you have an ID?" 

"What?" Rio asked she wondered if she could have one made up. She had worked in the station with out even asking for one. "I have one, it's my passport. Yet, it's locked up in the office of the station manager." 

When the words of the ID being locked up in the station manager's office entered the young man's ears that set him off complete. He loathed the idea of having any sort of missing data. He wanted to stop Rio or make her get her ID from the office. In his option, she was lying to him. He said, "What are you going to do. I need clearance from you. If you don't have the proper ID, then I can't let you go!" His voice sounded icy. It was like she was trying to save the world, yet he was the only stepping stone. He had to find out if she was telling him the truth. "Come on!" he ordered. 

"Where…its pitch black and I think this flashlight has only a couple of batteries left!" she tried to sound honest. 

"I don't care. I have one…an extra in my pocket!" He began to fish in his one pocket. He tried to keep one eye open to Rio and the other on his shirt pocket.

Rio didn't want to take any other chance of being shot at. She had to keep his mind from going crazy on her. She knew Luna was the only link between her and the outside world.

She said, "What about you. I never saw you on campus police force." 

"I just started!" he lied. His voice faulted a little. 

"Oh, that's interesting. You are so young," Rio said. She was trying to probe into his mind slowly with her power of the voice she had used since she was a child. Her voice was calm almost ghost like in its texture. 

He was instantly caught off guard when he felt the power of her voice cutting through his steel like core. What was she doing to him? 

"Come on!" Rio thought. She was hoping that he was being lulled into a trance like state. "Set us free!" 

Luna was surprised to hear Rio using her extra special power. It had been a long time that Rio was pushed into using her voice. It was like that of some of the charters from the cult movie and book named Dune. She and the other sailor Senshi had first hand experience of hearing the voice. She had to trick her mind from not hearing the voice before falling into its heady spell. 

"Please. What are you telling me that!" the young man said. 

"Nothing. Take us to the main floor!" she ordered gently. She hoped he was going to break in an instant. She didn't want Miss Roberts to be stuck in a dangerous situation. 

"Take you to the main floor, why?" he asked, trying to get his mind clear. He knew she was pulling a mind trick on him. 

"Please…listen to me… I have a fellow co-worker in danger. She had to save both the world and one person. Yet, it was proving an enormous task at hand. She had to reason with him, if it was last thing she had to do. "If I don't get back to the main floor and see about the power being turned back open, then I can't help her. She is in the basement and all alone." 

The words seemed to stun the young man. He blinked back the feeling of being tricked. He said, "I'll help you for just one time. If you say she is in danger, then we must go and help her." 

Rio smiled quickly, feeling the relief coming back to her. She had to think of not only of herself. She had to think of others. 

"I have one thing to ask of you," Luna half meowed.

Quickly changing her voice back into the one of a normal tone, Rio asked, "What?"

Luna peeked up at the powerful sailor Senshi, "How are we going to get the outside?"

"Good question. We have to follow that guy until he leads us it. That's all."

"I hope you are right!" Luna sighed, not knowing she and Rio were walking into a trap to not. She hopped upon Rio's shoulders after a few minutes of being on the ground. She heard another noise. It sounded like a clicking of a door. She purred in Rio's ear, "Are there any locked doors around here?"

"Yea, out side of the room with junk and the electrical board, there is room that hasn't been opened for a long time!" Rio sighed.

"And you want to keep that way?" the little black cat asked.

"Yes, in a way. I don't like surprises!" Rio sighed.

The light from the flashlight was bounced back to Rio's face. She blinked hard. Luna nearly was blinded once again. The little black cat hated to be blinded by stray flashlight beams. She hissed at the young man. Rio scolded, "Luna..."

"Meow!" Luna nearly growled. She was going frustrated with the young man.

"Be a good kitty," Rio retorted. She watched as the young man walked away from the two. She began to follow him once again. She had to go on with him until she saw light. Luna wanted to run up to the young man and give a good swipe with her claws. Yet, where she was sitting at, Luna had to think fast and land point black on her feet. She had landed not on her feet, and then…she had to risk being stepped on.

"Who are you talking to?" the young man asked. His memory was starting to kick in. he didn't want to tell Rio that he had know her from somewhere.

"Just the cat…that's all. They can tell what they want in their own way!" Rio nodded

slightly. 

"Meow?" Luna uttered a little nervously.

"Oh," the young man said as he spun on his heels. He beamed the flash light towards what appeared like an opened door way. He had stopped and aimed the light up towards the door frame. He said, "I think this is an exit!" 

Both Luna and Rio let out sighs of relief. It was near the main offices. Rio just had to

steer the young man towards the hallway which lead to Mister Sherwood's office. She whispered to Luna, "We are so close…once we can clear ourselves with this bloke…we are good as outside!" 

Luna had a feeling in the tips of her whiskers that it could turn out for the worst. She said, "Let's hope you are right." 

"I want to save Serena and the others from Prince Diamond!" Rio sighed. 

"You are telling me!" Luna whispered. 

Then, they noticed the beam of light hitting the walls of a room. The door was opened to a small room. She recognized as the lobby. She knew her way around the building when the lights were on. Rio and Luna remained quiet as followed the young man. Rio wanted to see if the others in the office were all right. She knew if the doors to the main offices and the studios were closed up, then things would be all right. It was nearly one in the afternoon. Some of the staff was at lunch. She thought of Mister Sherwood and Mister Foley being at the radio tower on route Sixty-two. They were probity trying to figure out what went wrong. Lance and Georgie were in the control room, waiting for the phone call from Mister Sherwood. She also remembered that the young man never gave Rio the extra flash light. She had no idea where she was headed for. 

There was a very small patch of light playing off of the main hallway. It was a sky light over the entrance way to the station. Luna was the first one to spot it. She purred very softly in Rio's ear, "There is some light coming from the exit." 

"Yes, I know there…I see it too!' Rio said. She shifted her eyes towards the doorway. She had to make a fast run with Luna still on her shoulder. She didn't want to loose the cat. Yet, Luna had away of finding where the girls were. "Are you going to make a run for the door?" 

"What?" Luna asked. She knew to not ask the questions of impractical ideas. She had some experience with that from Serena. "I'm not going to run out the door if you are not going to do it!" 

"On the contrary!" Rio said, beginning to size up the situation with the young man. She noticed that he was still walking down the hall. "He's down the hall…" Rio glanced at the doorway. "And the exit to freedom…is just around the corner!" 

"Wait a minute," Luna gasped, peering above Rio's head. "He does have ears!" 

"And your point, being!" Rio uttered, she was getting antsy about just standing around when her friends were in danger. 

"He could shoot at us after he heard us running to the exit," Luna sighed. She wanted to protect Rio from harm. She knew that Galaxia's minions never shot a gun in their lives. Yet, she didn't like to take any chances.

"What about Serena?" Rio sighed. She didn't want to leave the others in a lurch. "I have the Moon Kingdom to think about. I am a Sailor Senshi, after all!" 

"Yes, I have a prefect record of all Senshi being safe when it comes to people who are not from Galaxia's minions!" 

"I can understand what you are saying. You worry too much. You are like my Aunt Olivia. She is the biggest worry wart of them!" Rio huffed. She looked around to see if the young man was any further down the all. She figured out in her head how fast she had to run if she wanted to get to the exit. She had to make sure that Luna was safe first. Then, she had to calculate her speed and running time was faster than the young man's reflexes were. 

"I'm not a worry wart!" Luna hissed loudly into Rio's ear. 

"Hey..Lower the hissing," Rio grumbled a little softly. "I feel like I am in a balloon factory!" 

"You are the most foolish one of all!" Luna warned. She wanted to stop Rio, yet she wanted to be free as well. 

"Are you ready!" Rio asked. She was about to spin around to give the offices one last look. 

"Yes…I think!" Luna sighed. She felt like closing her eyes. She didn't like the idea of running in and out of danger. She took a large breath of air before holding onto Rio's shoulder. 

"Good," Rio said as she began to trot towards the door. She winced as Luna's claws started to stick into her skin. She tried to keep her ears and eyes open as she said, "Luna…ease up a little please!" 

"You can run with me on your shoulders without me hanging on to dear life. I am not a piece of Velcro," Luna gasped, feeling a pounding session hitting against her belly. She was a cat and wasn't use to having to tossed around on someone's shoulder like she was now. She knew Rio was a sprinter. She didn't risk running with Haruka. Hakura was the fastest senshi around. Trying to out run her was asking for too much. 

Rio near skidded to a halt when she saw the doors. She knew she was going to be free once the doors were opened. Rio didn't hear the noises outside of the door. Yet, she strained her ears to hear if the guy was still after her or not. "Luna…once we are outside…then we can save the others!" Rio panted. 

"What about the guy who was following us!" the little black kitty asked. 

"Am I not sure!" Rio huffed. Throwing out her hands, she pushed her way out of the enterance. She blinked out of the sun from her eyes. She didn't realized how long she and

Luna were in the dark. She said, "Are you O.k., Lu?" 

The little black cat wasn't gaping to take any chances by dropping off of Rio's shoulder just yet. She blinked hard before looking around for any signs of Serena or the others. All seemed very still. Rio finally opened her eyes to notice somebody was running up towards her and Luna. Luna said,"I'm fine, but he doesn't look so happy!" 

Both Rio and Luna quickly figured out it was another monster who was under the spell of the Dark moon's spell. Rio quickly shuffled to one side and pulled at the door. She was going to trap the monster inside the station. Luna didn't like the snap judgment from Rio. She said, "What are you doing?" 

"I'm not getting off just yet," Luna gasped. She felt her ribs. They took a little beating as Rio ran fast. 

"Where is Serena?" Rio said. She grunted as Luna's claws were easing up from her shoulder. 

"You know Serena's in trouble." 

"I know…when she screams, yet that could be any thing!" Rio remembered how Serena's bad study habits had caused her to flunk out on serial different times. Then, Serena could have a major upset with the results. Rio was not prefect, yet she had passing grades. 

"Yea, I know that. She could be blowing up after the fact Darien had broken up their umpteen date!" Luna sighed.

"I know you are not like Ami, but how do you manage? " 

"I think I have two brains. Some how at times, I have been asleep and still manage to pass the test with a C plus!" Rio laughed a little.

"That's better than Serena sleeping and getting a thirty percent or lower!" Luna sighed. She felt Rio's shoulders roll as Rio began to walk down the stairs. She could see how quiet everything was. It was like they had just entered a theme park exhibition of a college campus. She didn't like the feel of it. Rio felt uneasy when she began to climb down the stairs. Luna asked, "Do you feel it?" 

"Yes," Rio glanced around, trying to pin option the location of the evil which was starting to eat at her. She didn't move too quickly. There was a huge jolt of evil coming from of the main student dorms. It was like she was drawn to it. She started to walk towards it when Luna told her to slop down and check to see if anyone was around from Galxia's minions. 

Serena hadn't transformed yet. She and Hotura were standing neared the grassy intersection between buildings neared the station. Hotura was now Sailor Saturn. They spotted Rio with Luna on her shoulder. Serena felt like calling her for her. Yet, Hotura warned her that it was a very dangerous move on her part. Serena had another idea. Rio had a communicator watch with her. She was given her Henshi necklace and watch when she began Sailor Acardia. She wore it when she was with the other Sailor Sensei. She kept safe when she was at home in London. She didn't want her uncle and aunt knowing she was a Sailor Solider. 

Serena noticed Rio running out of the building. She had a feeling if she would have called out to Rio, it could cause some major trouble for her. 

There was also someone else who was eyeing Rio. Rio stopped to see where Serena and Hotura were. She did have her communicator watch on, she said to Luna, "I am going to be calling on Serena in just a minute!" 

"What?" Luna asked. She wondered why Rio wanted to bring attention to herself.  
"I am still open to an attack. Yet, I don't' want Serena or even Hotura to be hurt!" Rio sighed, before blowing a breath of air to move her bands. 

"Yes," Luna meowed. The little black cat noticed Serena had her watch opened. It paid to be cat with sharp eyes. She narrowing her eyes for a further scan, she noticed two people who were not human. These two were Prince Diamond and Rubes. They were hoping for a sort of rematch. Luna said, "Please be careful. I see someone in the distance!' 

Without even turning around to look, Rio said, "Where in the distance?" 

"Near the intersection that takes you to the bookstore you like to stop at!" Luna purred gently in Rio's ear. 

"I have a feeling we are sitting ducks!" she said. She was going to take a risk and walk towards the main street. She knew Luna was also a target. She began to walk in a normal fashion. She tried not to be so careful. Having to act naturally was one thing Rio could pull off with the grace of an actress. She raised her arm with the communicator watch on to her face. She appeared toy be staring at the watch. Then, she flipped open the communicator on. She said, "Serena…Hotura…are you there?"

Serena's communicator watch beeped. She knew it was Rio trying to get hold of her. She had to make sure that prince diamond and rebus couldn't' see them. Serena did the same as Rio. She said, "Yea…I can see you… what's going on"? 

"I see your two favs. Diamond and Rebus!" Rio sighed. She felt the back of her neck prinking. 

"What?" Serena nearly shirked. 

"Serena!" Hotura gasped out of embarrass fear. She had a feeling evil was so close that she could taste it. 

"They can hear you, loud mouth!" Luna's voice came from the watch. 

"Let's skip that. I have feeling that we are sitting ducks if we don't move," Rio sighed. She hoped with Hotura being like Ami, she could make Serena think clearly. She noticed Rebus and Prince Diamond standing very still. They had noticed her. Prince Diamond knew all about Sailor Acardia from Zoysite. There was no point of trying to make her give up the facade. He could read her little secret identity. She was really Sailor Acardia and the princess of the Sandsun Empire. 

"Where are you going?" Hotura asked. She didn't want Rio to be falling to the wrong hands. 

"Don't worry. I'll be taking the long way around. I'll be seeing you soon!" Rio said before flipping off her watch. She had to take Luna back to Serena. Luna had other plans. She told Rio that she was going to find Serena on her own. 

"How?" Serena gulped, her face color turning into the shade of chalk. 

Hotura glanced at Serena. Knowing that Rio was a wild child, Hotura had to brace herself for the worst. Yet, the worst that she believed in paled deeply than her child image. 

Prince Diamond and Rebus were now standing on a corner near the main campus. They didn't take noticed of a few students who were milling about between classes. They were interested in star seeds. Prince diamond glanced around the area for possible victims. There were no real powers coming any one. It seemed like students were on other plan than just mere high school students. They were more on the ball then what they had run into when they tried to attack Serena's high school. 

Yet, power was power and there was a lot for the asking. 

Then, Rubis noticed Rio with Luna riding on her shoulder coming down the street. Nothing the pensive look in Rio's eyes, made Rebus as close to happy as he could possibly be. He said to his highness, "Prince Diamond…" 

"What?" the white haired prince said when he stopped to glance at Rebus. He glanced at the on coming girl and cat. He recognized the cat belonging to Neo-queen Serenity. He knew she had to be very close to by. Luna was very caution when she went out on her own. "I see. That cat belongs to the Queen of the white moon kingdom. Why is it with this other girl?" 

"I have a feeling that the…" Rebus said, watching Rio taking a different direction in her walking. "…girl is a Sailor Senshi. That's what I believe in."

"You could be very right. There are two cats as adverse to Queen Serenity," Prince Diamond purred his answer in suspicion. 

"There is nothing we can't loose!" Rebus snorted. 

"Maybe our lives!" Prince diamond reflected the point of the high price of his own life in the loss of his own kingdom to the White Moon Kingdom. "Yet." 

There was a slight pause in his voice. He knew Luna and Rio had to be who they were.

"She could be here, close by!" he said very gently. There was a faded smile on his lips.

He didn't want to be so alone. He had lost his brother due the fact his lust for Serena grew out of his own control. 

"The girl is not some giggling little brat like the present Moon Princess, "Rebus said, trying not too bold in his statement. He knew some of the sailor senshi were that, giggling little school girls who just wanted to have a normal, carefree life. 

Prince diamond turned to glare at his subject. He could feel the sharpness of the sting in Rebus's statement. Rebus would be punished for his statement, yet now wasn't the time. Prince Diamond needed Serena in the worst way. He said, "She is very different." 

"How and which one?" Rebus asked innocently. 

"I can understand what you are saying about the future queen of the White Moon Kingdom. She has a childlike quietly. Yet, she can grow up when the time comes!"  
Rebus gave the words at minute to sink in. he remembered the stories from both Jadeite and Zoysite about the Sailor Senshi. The battles fought between Queen Beryl and Sailor Moon happened when Sailor moon was just only fourteen. Now she was entering the age of adulthood. In fact, she and Darien were waiting until she was out of high school to be married. Serena was now eighteen, full of promise and hope. She had grown up fast. She had to take care of her future daughter in the present. It was not an easy task. She had to fight with Reenie at times for the affection of Darien. Rebus thought for a minute even harder. He remembered how deeply Darien cared for Reenie. Reenie was his one and only daughter. He also remembered how Serena resented the love dolled out to Reenie instead of her. Rubis smiled darkly. He turned to asked Prince Diamond, "Do you remember Wicked Lady?" 

"Yes. Little rabbit's shadow! Why?" Prince diamond asked. He was starting to grow impatient about the whole idea of waiting around for something to happen. "That had cost us everything at the end!" 

"Then, there was another person who was named Mistress nine?" 

The words seemed foreign to him. To have other people that were could be cold or be truly evil. That was something prince Diamond thought of but never toyed with. He wondered about the stories that he had from Professor Tome about the pharaoh 90 and the Witches 5. There was very much to concern. He wondered if there was any way of getting those two, wicked lady and Mistress Nine back from their long months of captive.

"I have an idea…" Rebus began to say. Then, he was cut off by a scream. 

The two followed by couple more pairs of eyes. It was Rio screaming. She was now being sucked into the pavement. Luna was now trying to get some aid. The little black cat jumped off of Rio's shoulders. It was now near the edge of the hole that was now swallowing up the young girl. She screamed for help. Luna said, "I'm going to get some sort of help. Keep your head!" 

"What?" Rio gasped. She was half way in the hole. She tried to struggle in the hole. She pushed with every muscle stained in a fight to keep her from getting swallowed up by the hole. 

Luna gritted as she remembered the same thing happened to her and Serena at the Cherry blooms back in Tokyo. She turned to see Serena and Prince Diamond running in the general discretion where Rio was screaming. "Oh, great!" Luna thought. "I really need this!" 

It was no time where Rio was now up to her neck in black cement. She said, "Just don't stand there. I need help!" 

"I will help you…" Serena said, trying to sound very adult in the situation. She was now running towards the hole. 

Luna watched as Serena bolted from the street. She never had that much energy unless she was cornered or a friend was in danger. She had certain drive inside her to really come through even she did make mistakes. Luna called out, fear in her voice, "Please Serena…don't be rash!" 

"Please…Luna get a hold of Lita and Mina!" Serena ordered. 

"What?" Luna gasped before getting a hold of Rio's large plastic bracelet between her teeth. She grabbed a hold of it when Rio's arm came down. The little black cat hoped to pin down Rio before she sank even further. 

"They are very close by…they came with me and Hotura to check out the school!" Serena was now standing near Luna. Serena had no idea of helping Rio out of her situation. She remembered being in the same predicament before, yet she was at the receiving end. She had to help, but how.

Then, Rio said, "Bend down…Serena…I'll make a grab for a hand." 

"Are you sure?" Serena asked, she had lost a little of her sense at an emergency like this. 

"Yea!" Rio gasped. She watched when Serena bent down as far she could go with one arm extended towards Rio's hands. She tried to pull up with everything she had Rio. When they darted to pull Rio's body out of the hole, they felt a large jolt of eclectic coming from the surrounding area. Serena let out a scream while Rio cried out in pain. 

Luna screamed, "GIRLS?" 

She felt like bouncing on Serena's shoulders and biting Rio's two-toned bracelet. She had to help out. Why did she felt that way? She knew the girls were not playing around. She got that idea out of her head once and for all. She had no idea what was going to happen next. Rio wanted to cry. The pain from the hole was now crushing her as well dragging her even further. She thought about Dusty. He had to be close. She had a feeling he was coming. He did want to visit her at the station before heading off to the Akron area to take a sight seeing tour of the Goodyear Tire plant. He, Steve and few of the others were going to take a one tank trip to Akron. He had to just stop at the station to see of Rio was still at work. Rio closed her eyes for just a second. Letting her mind clear, Rio began to focus on her mind set on Dusty.

Dusty was at the stadium with Steve. He was checking out the entrance way with Steve who wanted to see where Mount Union football team played at. Dusty had stopped for a couple of minute with Steve on Steve's bike. Couple of the others went on ahead to Akron. 

Dusty started to get a headache. This was a sign somehow that Rio was in trouble. He was lucky to have her was very much strained after her blindness. He knew Rio was still very weak in her powers as his princess. Some of the powers she had before were very slowly coming back to her. She knew also as a sailor senshi she had to gather up enough straight to do her attacks. 

Steve looked at his friend and asked, "What's wrong you…Dust?" 

Dusty appeared to be very pale in his face. He knew Rio was in trouble. He said, "I just have a gut feeling that Rio's in trouble. I don't know why…" 

Then, he swallowed. His mouth felt grow dry. He was trying to picture where Rio could be at. 

"You think that…" Steve said, he tried to keep Dusty from going nuts. He knew Dusty wasn't kidding about Rio. The look in Dusty's eyes was just enough of indication for

Steve. He knew Rio wasn't going to be able to help herself at all. 

"I hope she is at the station!" Dusty said. 

"Where is it at?" Steve asked. He knew Rio had a job at the radio station on the college campus. He just didn't know the local was at. He had to follow Dusty to the station to find out if Rio was ok. The two began to walk in the general diction of the radio station.  
Meanwhile, Serena and Luna were trying to pull Rio out of the hole. For every time they tried to make a grab for an arm or a shoulder, they were thrown back to the ground by a jolt of electric. Luna was growing tired while Serena was just growing grumpy. She had to come up with something to get Rio out. Rio tried to push herself out of the hole with both arms at each side of her, hands face down on to the ground. 

It seemed like the final blow to everyone involved, was when Rio felt hands starting to grab up with such a force, that Serena was thrown back with Luna following her. She had a jolt if burbling electric. Serena let out a scream as the pain seared into her hands. 

Luna had a tiny hold of Rio's bracelet. She was thrown back as well. Landing on her feet, the little black cat howled softly. She shook her head, throwing off the pain. She knew that Rio could be done for as a normal human. She dreaded the idea of being captured by the dark moon kingdoms. She didn't' want nothing to do with them for she loved the white moon kingdom with all of her heart. She prayed for a miracle to come quickly. 

Then, the worst thing could have come. A large wave of black goo came out from behind Rio. As it leapt up to cover Rio, Rio tried to claw her way out of the hole. There was no way of getting out that hole alive. 

Serena shot up with her eyes transfixed on Rio. A scream came from her mouth. Everything seemed to stop in mid step. Then, the goo pounced on Rio's shoulders and neck like a large hand warping itself around her. Pulling her down like a rope that was untied from a post Rio quickly sank to wherever she was suppose to end up at. 

Serena felt anger, fear and guilt for not saving Rio at the time. She leapt towards the hole with both hands in midair. She was punished by the black goo by being jolted back to where she had landed in the first place. She sat as she had stood in a great frustrated state. Her hands shook, trying extremely hard to reach out to take Rio back. Standing by her side, Luna was nearly in tears. She thought to herself, "We have to fight to get her back…but how?"

Serena heard footsteps coming towards her. She tried to get on her feet. Glancing towards in one depiction, she noticed Prince Diamond and Rebus coming. She wanted to freeze or run. She couldn't think of a straight answer. Luna said, "Serena…runs!"  
"What…and leave Rio!" Serena gasped. She felt her mind buzzing with so much pain of seeing one of her best friends taken away from her, she had to fight. She said, "I want to get Rio back. How many times that I have seen my friends stolen away from me!" 

"I can understand what you are saying…but, you don't want your enemies getting a hold of you!" Luna said as she started to arch her back in attack mode. 

"Then, we get her back…" Serena said. 

"Princess!" Prince diamond cried out. He was running so hard that he nearly came up to Serena. 

Serena leapt backwards out of her old instinct. She knew he was going to take her away. There was a burning idea in the back her mind where she had been so afraid that he was going to change her like he let Wiseman change Reenie into Wicked lady. She had to escape. Yet, she didn't go without using a plan. She knew she had to relay on the other sailor Senshi near by. "No…way…you creep!" she hissed, trying to sound tough as she started to walk backwards. 

Insulted, Prince Diamond wanted to take Serena by force. She had to go and bow down to his will. He said, "How dare you!" 

"How dare I?" Serena said. She sounded like she was picking up on the classes of English grammar. She was tried to sound brave. Yet, she was still a young girl in the world of adults. She glared at Prince Diamond as her courage shown through. She had to save Rio. What was the road block, maybe Prince Diamond? "Do I transform and show you what I can do for now!" 

"Little girl like you…ohh…I am so scared!" Rebus chided. He placed a hand up to his chin. He was going to show Serena he was not going through with playing around. He began to walk closer to her. She had to face him one again. 

"Serena!" Hotura cried out. She had to run back when she had told mina and Reenie was Serena and Rio was at. 

Serena knew if she had turned around too see how it was, then she could have been trapped by Prince Diamond for sure. She hoped Hotura wasn't running into a trap. She had to stop Hotura from taking any further steps towards her. 

"Ah…more pretty girls from your court," Rubus teased, he noticed the other three were running towards séance. 

"Even Small lady is coming!" prince diamond adding to rubis's comment. He turned to give Reenie a shock.

Reenie did have a shock from Rebus. She thought he was gone the also time she had met him. Although, evil always had a repapering trick up its sleeve and she knew it as well. She stopped in misstep before saying, "What are you doing here." 

Prince Diamond was quick with his statement, "Waiting for you…small rabbit!" 

Then, he knew Reenie and Hotura was both full of evil anger and power. He wondered if it could resurface once again. It had to take enormous sources of energy to unlock the two. Hotura wondered why Reenie stopped. She swiveled on her heels to nearly collide with Rebus. Rebus had to smile as he felt Hotura's body come close. 

Reenie let out a large gasp as she stared at the two. She felt her heart nearly explode from fear. It was like an old wound being ripped open. She didn't want to relive the pain from the time she was changed into wicked lady. 

Hotura was too close for Reenie's comfort. The shy girl with the purple eyes turned around to almost feel Rebus's hands clutch at her shoulders. She backed off quickly before running into Prince Diamond. She felt like a rat trapped into a corner. She had to escape, but how. 

Reenie noticed a few bushes near a building. She could run behind them and transform. Acting quickly Reenie took action. She ran to the bushes before diving in. she had her compact in hand. On razing it into the air, Reenie said, "chibi-moon Transform!"  
Within seconds, Reenie was changed into Sailor chibi-moon. She jumped out of the bushes with her Heart bell in hand. She ran towards the area where Hotura's and Serena were both in spot with Prince Diamond and Rebus. She said, "How dare you attack a young girl who is trying to help out another girl!" 

"Wow!" Rebus huffed, rolling his eyes. "What a fighter…" 

Sailor Chibi-moon was insulted by Rebus's tone of voice. She grunted her disapproval as she glared at him. She stood with one hand raised up to the sky. Then, pointing to the two who were trying to get a hold of Hotaru. "What was that?" she snapped sourly. 

"Sailor chibi-moon…please get away from here! I can take care of myself!" Hotaru pleaded She had an idea in her mind. If she could spin around with both hands in mid air, she could punch both Prince Diamond and Rebus in the chest. Then, quickly ducking from being grabbed, Hotaru could make a run for it.

"No!" Sailor chibi-moon said, shaking her head. She hoped someone else was going to be there to back her up. 

"Little rabbit, we know who you are!" Rebus smiled grimly. 

She and Hotura were stunned. They had to figure in other time how the dark forces found out who they were. She remembered how times she was told never to transform in front of anyone else who wasn't a sailor solider. 

"We can see right through you!" Prince Diamond said. He reached out a hand to make a grab for Sailor Chibi-moon. He could feel her fear of discovery. He knew he had her right for the taking. He would be in great favor with Galaxia. He was going be proved wrong.  
Hotura had been watching for a window of opportunity when Rebus and Prince Diamond was going to grab her. She swung around to make a fist. With a force of a sledge hammer, she took aim. Letting her fist hitting Rebus squarely in the jaw, Hotaru did a trick she saw in the movies with her one foot. She flipped it upside towards Prince Diamond. It smacked dead on his chin. 

Both Prince Diamond and Rebus were stunned as they felt hotaru's own power. She was not using on the power of Saturn. Gracefully she swung back onto her heels. She said, "You can't get me…" 

"That little brat!" Prince Diamond hissed as he felt a sore spot on his chin. He wondered if he was ok. 

Rebus had straggled back to avoid being hit once again. He wasn't going to take any chanciest with Hotaru. Apparently from the last battle they had encountered, Hotaru was getting stronger with her own strength. 

"She's like a wild creature. Where did she get that edge?" Prince Diamond thought as his glance shifted to Sailor Chibi-moon. "Have they been training for such times as these?" 

"Give it up creep!" Hotaru hissed. Her purple eyes narrowed in heated fire. She wanted to keep her distance, yet she had to fight. She had very bad memories of her father trying to bring out Mistress Nine by any means. She did want have a normal childhood. She remembered before the accident at her father's lab, she had a very normal life with her mom and dad. After explosion, things changed. Her father had taken steps on keeping her alive. Even if meant treading his life to be a pawn in Pharos 90's plans. 

Chibi-moon watched as Hotaru ducked once again. She felt jumping in. She and the others didn't know what was going to happen to the in a few short minutes. 

Rio was now swimming as best as she could in black sea of ooze. She tried to keep her head before panicking like she had done when she first battled the Negavirse. She didn't like the feeling of the ooze crawling into her ears and up her nose. She winced as she felt the ooze trying to into mouth. She had to breathe somehow.

"What are you thinking?" a voice hissed in her ears. 

"Uh?" she thought to herself. 

"What are you thinking!" the voice hissed again. 

"I want to get out of here. I don't belong here!" she thought. She had to keep calm as best as she could in the situation she was in. trying to open her eyes to see what was happening, Rio could hear noises coming from above her head. It sounded like fighting above her. She wondered who was fighting. She hoped in her name sake someone or something was going to rescue her from this strange and bizarre drowning. The strange memoires of Alice in her falling down a rabbit hole toyed with Rio. Was Rio going down to wonderland herself? If she was then she would have to give the Queen of Hearts a good talking too. 

Then, a large whole came out of nowhere. Looking down, Rio felt her feet just dangling away as through she was caught on hook by the scruff of her neck. Thinking that she had gone out of her mind, Rio started to cry. She was nearly a woman of eighteen and she was crying like a four year old. 

What was going on with her? She believed in the back of her mind in a tiny corner tucked away, she was just dreaming and she would wake up soon with tears in her eyes. She had to pull herself together in order to wake up. 

"You are not dreaming!" the voice said. 

"What?" Rio said as a thought crossed her mind. Was this voice reading her mind as well? She had thought of other things if she was going to come out of the dream. She thought, "Why are you in my mind…telling me that?" 

"You are very silly. You have no idea what lies in store for you!" the voice said. 

Rio was slightly convinced she was in a dream. She believed she had watched an old black and white film before heading off for bed. Then, she was replaying some of the lines in her dreams. The statement she had heard sounded very corny. She loved old back and white films. On wondering is she was dreaming one up in her mind, was she going to see funny Charlie Chaplin or the sweet, innocent Lillian Gish walk past her. It was just enough to keep her mind from going crazy. 

"Why are you thinking about old black and white films?" the voice said. 

"Its' my logical. You got a problem with that?" she thought in a huff.

"Strange girl!" the voice hissed once aging. 

"I'm not strange. Please God and Queen Serenity where are you. Am I dreaming this?" she wondered. Rio experienced little hands reaching up towards her neck. She had to struggle out of this. She rolled her shoulders as close as she could up to her neck. Then, she tried to move her feet. It was like swimming in Jell-o. There was no place for a foot hold as she struggled.

"Power with in your heart is also burning brightly," another voice said in her mind. 

"What?" she thought. 

"The power of your heart is burning bright within you!" The voice said for the second time. 

"I have some thing of power…but my scout power is dead!" she thought. 

"What are you talking about?" the hissing voice huffed in her mind. 

Then, a large blot of lighting surged through her body. Rio let out a scream of terrified filled pain. She struggled once again to relieve the pain affixed on her. She wanted to be free from the pain. 

Finally the pain was too much and she passed out from it. 

In Rio's mind, she was drifting in a sea of clouds. She wondered if she had finally died or ended up in a coma. The area she was in seemed endlessly. There was no place to go, nothing to see. She wondered if she was now fully in a dream like she thought if only for a minute before. She wondered if she was going to wake up. 

A voice called out to her. She wondered who it was. Trying to move the clouds to get a better look at the owner of the voice, Rio tried to grab for a cloud. Hoping to push it aside to get even see who was calling for her, Rio called out, "I'M HERE!" 

"RIO!" the voice called out for second time. 

"Great," she huffed. She thought, "I'm stuck here…after getting the crap zapped out of me and before that…the goopy stuff sucks me in…I got to start in drinking more mint tea and less of lime Monster!" 

"RIO?" the voice called out for a third time. 

"I AM HERE…CAN'T YOU HEAR MY VIOCE?" she called out. She shook her head.

That was no use, she was still in clouds. Why was she in the state she was in? 

"I see something moving in the clouds!" another voice said to the first. 

"Yes…it's me you fool!" she wondered out loud, folding her arms over her chest. She wanted to float down by any means possible to see who was calling her name. Things were getting down right goofy. 

"Clouds don't move," a third voice said. 

"Clouds don't move, HAH!" Rio snapped. She tried to move once more. There was no real thing to hold on to. She couldn't swim in water, yet this was the clouds. How was she going to swim then? 

"I heard something go 'HAH'!" the second voice said. 

"I wish I had wings. Then, I can prove to whomever! Then, by flying down I can show myself off!" Rio said as she tried to struggle with the clouds. She heard something go zing like it was an arrow with a long string attached to it. She wondered where the noise was coming from. She pushed a cloud or two away from her to see what was going on. A large band of cloth flew up and twisted around her left ankle. She started to tear away the clouds to check out the cloth. It had wrapped itself around her ankle. Now she was going to be pulled down from the clouds fish style. She didn't like the idea of being a fish. She started to scream and protest about the situation in hand. 

In the outside world, Serena was now caught up in her problems. She was watching as both Houtra and Sailor Chibi-moon were trying to defend themselves from the evil Prince Diamond and Reubis. She had to transform, but how. 

There was a building where no one was using it at the time. She quickly glanced at the building. She ran over to where the door was, yet she was caught by sight. It was prince Diamond who barked out, "HALT!" 

Serena's blood froze. She remembered the last time he had snared her. She didn't like the feeling. She had to transform into sailor moon to save Rio from where her friend was at. Somehow she got herself away from Prince Diamond. Serena was a born sneaker. She watched as Houtra was battling it out with Prince Diamond and Rebus. It was a good idea for her to run to the building before she could transform. 

"Venus love chain whip!" a voice said as clear as a bell. 

Serena watched as a golden beam of light snapped at Prince Diamond's back. He let out a yelp. He flung himself around at warp speed to see Sailor Venus standing a few feet away. He glared at her, "What do you think you are doing to me?" 

"I would like to ask the same question!" Sailor Venus glared back at him. She had her chain wrapped around her hand.

"Little brat!" the white haired prince hissed as he placed a hand gingerly on the back of his neck. Checking on where the chain smacked him, Prince Diamond glared at the golden Sailor Senshi of love. 

"No…I'm Sailor Venus!" she said, saluting her enemy with the 'v' sign. 

"Get her!" Prince diamond barked out a command. A pair of large birds came out of nowhere. Sailor Venus noticed the birds and let out another attack on them instead on Prince Diamond. She had to become of the birds. They didn't appear to be normal birds.

Serena noticed that prince diamond was distracted from the idea of kidnapping her once again. She bolted to the building. She found out by the sounds of the building there was nothing inside. She found an empty hallway. Taking out her crystal compact, she said, "Moon Crystal power!" 

In an instant a brilliant light hit her to transform her into sailor moon, the champion of love and justice. She retraced her steps back to the outside. She scanned the area where the fighting between good and evil was still going on. She gulped as her eyes noticed the séance now enfolding in front of her. 

Sailor Chibi-moon and Hotura were now being hauled away by Prince Diamond and Rebus. While sailor Venus was trying to fight off a large purple and blue fly-type monster. She was ducking the large fly with a lot of problems. She wished Artimes was there to leap up in air. Then, attack has best as he could. Sailor moon wasn't the brightness when it came to fighting at times, yet she had heart which was needed more than smarts. She had to have help in this matter. Yet, where Lita and Rio was was out of the picture. Sailor Moon believed Rio was captured by the evil forces in the ooze hole.  
It seemed hopeless. 

Then, another voice said, "Supreme Thunder crash!" 

It was such a sweet sound coming from nowhere. Sailor Moon glanced around to see Sailor Jupiter running up the path. The tall Sailor Senshi had a very bad felling that something wasn't right. She had to investigate what was going on with her sister Senshi. 

"Sailor Jupiter!" Sailor moon cried out. 

"Good. I'm here!" Sailor Jupiter uttered as she assessed the situation. She noticed that Sailor Moon wasn't there. Where could she have gone to? She didn't have time to be looking for her leader. She needed to fight and now. She noticed the monster who was trying to attack Sailor Venus had been blasted back to yard near the walk way. She said, "Sailor Venus…are you o.k.?" 

"Yes…I think Sailor Moon is hiding, but she is here!" Sailor Venus said when she glanced at her wounds. She took a light beating when she was tangling with the monster. She wondered if there was going to be any more fighting.

"I don't think so," Sailor Moon said when she came running towards the other two. 

"Sailor Moon!" uttered in amazement by sailor Jupiter. 

"Good to have you here!" Sailor Venus smiled. 

Then, the fly buzzed in a dive bombing attack at the sailor of love. Sailor Venus yelped out loudly as she ducked to avoid the monster. Sailor Moon was very upset. She said,

"That creep is Moon dusted!" 

"Go for it!" Sailor Jupiter said. 

Sailor Moon raised her Rainbow Moon Calice for the attack. She thought, "I have my hands really tied this time. We may have lost sailor Arcadia for good!" 

"Are you sure!" questioned Sailor Jupiter. A worried look appeared in Sailor Jupiter's eyes. She didn't want to hear one of her sister senshi was gone, trapped by the dark side. 

"Yes," Sailor moon said. She raised her Rainbow Moon Calice up in the air. She said, "Rainbow Moon Kiss Threphary!" 

In an instant, a large beam of multi-coloured light came from the wand. She knew had a feeling Prince Diamond had another monster up his sleeve. She hoped he wasn't going to pull out any more. 

The beam of rainbow light cascaded down towards the monsters fly. Sailor Venus threw herself down on to the grass near the sidewalk. She heard the fly screaming in pain. She said to herself, "What about Rio?" 

At the same time, Rio was now hanging upside down with a large amount of grey sticky thread covering her. She wanted to scream for overtime she felt the thread moving. It was like a spider's web. Coming from behind, she heard voices. She wondered who they were. She thought, "What's next?" 

A metallic like voice said, "You really like to know?" 

"Yea!" Rio yowled back at the voice. She tried to move her head to see who was speaking to her. It was no use; the webbing was wrapped around her neck a little on the tight side. She struggled to catch her breath when she felt the webbing tightening up. She said, "Will you stop with the spider act. It's hurting me!" 

"Oh, dear…I'm sorry!" the voice hissed in her ear. Then, Rio felt the webbing moving up towards her chin. It was slimy in texture when it crawled upwards. She wondered what could happen next. The voice said, "My guest feels a little uncomfortable?"  
The webbing was trying to cover her entire body.

At the same time, Dusty who was sitting in the car with Steve in the parking lot near the stadium was feeling what Rio was feeling, a power trying to smoother her out. He wanted to find her before anything else happened. She was love for all times. He had to protect her. 

Steve looked at Dusty and said, "What's up with you?" 

"I feel like Rio is in trouble!" Dusty uttered with a blank expression. 

"What?" Steve griped. He placed a hand up to his forehead. He said, "You have that feeling the last time she was ill. What makes you think this time she's in trouble now!"  
Dusty was now shaken out of his slight stupor. He glared at his friend and growled, "Remember…Rio and me have a connection!" 

"Yea!" Steve sighed, feeling the sting of Dusty's eyes. He knew that was moving to a point that was a little more than he cared to mess with. He said, "Sorry mate. I have no idea that you took it very seriously!" 

"Yes…I do!" Dusty said before growing very light headed. He could feel the connection growing apart very quickly. He didn't want this to happen. The fear of really losing her was still palpable to him. He uttered looking adorn, "I got to find her. Where could she have gone to?" 

Steve, who had a level head at times, said, "Calm down…we will find her. Just take it easy!" 

He tried to grab at Dusty's arm. He was going to make his best friend stay focused as they looked for Rio. 

The time between a heart beat was measured so quickly that to made the rest of world seemed so pointless. 

Then, things came to a head. 

Rio was now going to be assaulted; she had no idea who was behind it. She tried to struggle from the webbing that was now apart of her. She did not want top be another victim. She wanted to live so badly, it hurt. She said, "Is this…no help!" 

There was only silence. 

Then the nightmare became real. She felt another surge of electric running past her. She wanted to scream but couldn't. The voices were now mixed her in her mind. Her mind was now a muffled mix of air squeezing. The sounds were like that of a thunder storm at a long distance. She could feel a song running in her mind. She wondered who was singing.

"We sit and watch umbrellas fly, I'm trying to keep my newspaper dry, I hear myself say, My boat's leaving now'...so we shake hands and cry, Now I must wave goodbye,  
Wave goodbye!" a soft male voice sang in Rio's ears. 

Her world seemed to halt. The only thing she could sense at all was the voice singing to her. Was this a long ago memory buried deep with in her mind. Her past was now trying to catch up to her, breaking every chink in her amour. 

The song continued on, "You know… I don't want to cry again…I don't want to cry again…Don't want to say goodbye I don't want to cry again…I don't want to run away.  
Don't want to race this pain…I'll never see your face again…Oh but how…How can you say!" 

She tried to think where she heard the song before. Then, the memoires started to flood back into her mind. It was memories of a past that was lying dormant for a long while. She had no idea where they come from. 

"That I didn't try, you see things in the depths of my eyes, that my love's run dry  
No..." 

She thought, "Where did that song come from. I think I have heard before." 

"We leave to their goodbyes…I've come to depend on the look in…Their eyes  
my blood's sweet for pain…" 

Rio felt like falling into the void where she was five years ago. She had no memories of the past. She was living person with no real identity. She was found wandering in a flied somewhere in England. She knew she was born, but where. 

"The wind and the rain bring back words, of a song…And they say: wave goodbye  
Wave goodbye!" 

It seemed like Rio was slipping away from the present into a past she had trouble remembering. She wanted so badly to stop where she was at. Then…the song had stopped in mid air. It was like a CD stuck in mid cord. She had no room to breath. No idea where this was leading her to. 

"Rio…or rather should I speak of your past!" another voice said. 

What was this…a third voice or was a fourth, Rio was very confused. She had no idea how this was going to end. Why this unseen, but did heard voices kept on forcing their way into her mind. She had one last idea. She was going mad, but from what.

"My dear human…what is that made you leave us!" the voice asked. 

"What leave…where?" she wondered, trying to save her now depleting energy. It was like the last time she had this strange feeling. What was going to fall on her was anybody's guess. 

"My dear human…when was the last time I talked to you?" the voice questioned her. 

"Now, I have really lost it. There is no way I can hear a voice, but not see anyone talk to me! I don't even a mobile phone!" Rio thought. She tried to blink out the minutes between breathing. 

"You are so reliant," the voice purred. "I wouldn't even think that you were still alive after what had happened." 

"I don't remember anything. I just remember what had happened this. I have no idea what you are talking about!" 

"Oh?" 

"Why are you asking me this stupid question? I have no idea what you want from me!"

"Don't realize that I hold your life in the very grip of a span. Now give me the answers that I asked. Beside that I might let you live. I have some things for you to do later!" 

"What things. I don't want to do it…what ever you want me to do!" Rio sounded very frightened and trapped. She wondered if this was just a bad dream turning into a nightmare. 

"Quiet!" the voice howled in her mind. Then, sending a large bolt of electric through her body, the voice had her right where it wanted. How many times that she didn't want to go thought the pain again. 

Rio cried out and writhed in agony. She wanted to just give up one last time. Yet, the power of Moon Kingdom wasn't going to let her down. 

A light in Rio's soul started to grow as if it were a small seed. She felt it inside, warming her up. She had no idea what was going to happen next. 

Meanwhile, Sailor moon was now trying to still figure out what would she do to save the planet. It seemed like the cards where stacked up against her. She had tried to use her wand once. It wasn't working out. It seemed like the monsters getting stronger. She tough tot herself, "what I am going to use. The wand is not working. I wish I could go back to my normal life as myself." 

Prince diamond had his hands on Hotura. He had some idea of bring Mistress Nine back from her sleep. It could rob him of his powers, yet he was willing to risk it. He had grabbed Hotura by the shoulder once aging. This time he was very skillful as his one hand grappled with her slim shoulder.

Hotura let out a yowl, "Let me go!" 

"Not this time!" the white haired prince hissed through a snarl of teeth. 

"What…is there an option to just give up?" Sailor Moon thought to herself. Her mind raced back to the same feeling she had one thousand years ago, not to give up. Yes, she was a very big cry baby…yet she had done life times of growing in a short span of a few years. "No…the others are counting on me." 

Her eyes fell on Sailor Venus, Luna and Artimes. They were still trying to avoid the monster as best as they could. To give in was too easy. Even for Ami, mina or Rei…Serena had a bit of last minute courage. 

"This is it…" Sailor moon thought. "I have to do what is best for all of us. I hope this is my last time on thinking of it!" 

"You have the power to destroy all that is evil!" a voice rang gently in Sailor Moon's mind. It was her mother, Queen Serenity. 

"Yes…mother, I will!" sailor moon thought. Rising her wand for another try, Sailor moon hoped that her mother was watching out for her as well as the rest of the former moon kingdom. "I am so tried of seeing what you have done in the past! You have no idea what you could be like if you were good!" 

"Good!" the white haired prince spat out the word. "The word sticks in my mouth."  
"Why do you take evil's side?" Sailor moon pleaded. She knew he could have been good the first time around. When he had died the first time, it was only sign of his goodness coming from inside. 

"Why…are you such a little child!" he snapped. 

"I don't care if I am a little child. I am still the moon princess!" Sailor Moon's voice cracked a fraction. She knew he was just trying to get under her skin. She had to build up a wall just in case of one last trick. 

"Soon to be my slave!" he hissed, his eyes glowing nearly white. He was going to use his third eye. Trying to tap into his powers, Prince Diamond stared blindly at Sailor Moon. The gaze haunted her still. She tried to move found her feet unable to move.

"Why can't I move?" she thought. She tried to move her feet back. She was now trapped like the last time he used his powers on her. She wanted to close her eyes to block out his gaze. All of her muscles were now ensnared in a powerful grip. 

"She is right where I want her!" Prince Diamond smirked as he thought. 

"Oh, mother…help!" Sailor Moon cried out in her mind. She willed her body to move even it was one inch. She couldn't. All she could do was breath and stare at Prince Diamond. 

"Sailor Moon!" Hotura cried out. She glanced at her friend in danger. She wanted to help, but she had heard stories about Prince Diamond from Reenie. His gaze was almost like staring into the face of Messuda. 

Something was starting to bubble inside of her as well. The darkness that she had locked away from the rest of the world for a ling time was starting to crack open. It had found little chinks in her frail soul. She didn't realize Hotura Tomeo herself had still hate and jealously in her mind. They hide in the most smallest of places in her mind. Now it was too late to stop it. Hotura felt a force creeping around inside her heart. She realized before time ran out it was the force named Mistress Nine. 

"Let me out!" the darkling gasped, feeling power surging around Hotura's frail mind set.

"I want to feel the freedom that you had!" 

"No way!" Hotura gasped. She noticed the dark enegry piling up around her. The coldness was so thick that it scared her. She said, "I thought I got rid of you a long time ago!" 

"I am like a very bad penny. I just wait until I have a reason to crop up.!" the voice of Mistress nine hissed in Hotura's mind. 

"I didn't want you to live. You had ruined countless lives including my father's!" Hotura cried out. 

"Your father was just a pawn in my path to please the Pharaoh!" Mistress nine purred loudly. She was starting to take shape in Hotura's mind. All it needed was a pure heart source. Reenie was now an option for the taking. Yet, there was talk about taking both Reenie and Hotura to be used in Galaxia's plan of plugging the world into darkness. It seemed like one couldn't go without the other. Did Mistress nine know about Wicked Lady? There was a very slim chance that the power Reenie had to make her into Wicked lady could be used to power up Mistress Nine. It was a chance Galatia could use. 

"That was and still is lie!" Hotaru howled on hearing the painful news about her father. She loved her father very deeply. She had remembered what had happened the day the lab blew up. Then, the rest was very blurry. Her heart pounded hard against her chest. Feeling week, she began to slip out of her skin. The power flowing through her was not hers. It was evil power taking over her. She had no control when the power broke through. Hotura's soul split into two different personalities. It seemed like the harder Hotaru pushed back the evil, the evil had nearly took her down by surprise.

"Now, it beings!" Prince Diamond crackled in an evil cry. 

"No…" Sailor Moon cut in with possible intervention. She had the last taste of evil for the last time. This could be her last chance before becoming queen to have a normal teenage life. No more fighting was a good thing. She had a peaceful life before her sailor senshi role. She was not just about to let Galaxia wake up the evil once again. "I will not let your evil destroy my world." 

She held out the wand in front of her. She closed her eyes to power up. 

Then, Hotaru felt a large unseen hand push her down onto the ground. She cried out in pain as darkness started to rip her mind apart. She wanted to change into Sailor Saturn to stop Mistress Nine from coming in. she remembered her henshin item in her shirt pocket. She tried to roll over to make a grab for the item in her pocket. "Not this time…little firefly!" the evil spirit hissed in her mind. 

Then, she appeared in a thin film of mist over Hotura's body. Hotaru gasped,

"Why…why…do you have to be such a nasty power? I thought you were dead. I watched you disappear right in front of me!" 

"I might have disappeared, yet I am still inside of you. I was laying, asleep. Now I have been nudged awake!" 

Hotaru felt a hand grab the crown of her head. She gritted her teeth in order not to scream. She glanced up at someone who was now standing ion front of her. She noticed through a blur of new formed tears it appeared to be her father. She wondered how he survived the blast from the destruction of Mugen School. Her eyes were filled with tears as she spoke, "What are you going to do with me?" 

"Do?" Professor Tomeo growled darkly as he bent down far enough to see eye to eye with his daughter. "My dear baby girl…the world is waiting for the silence to return! " 

"No…" Hotaru gasped, very much afraid. She knew he was no longer the kind and gentle father she knew. This was a man who was changed into an evil monster. She had no idea of changing him back with it her powers. If she could reach her shirt pocket, then she could try to scramble out of his grip. There was no way of doing it. "I have changed…"  
It seemed like both Mistress nine and her father reached into Hotura's mind to found out what was the change. "There is no more change!"

"You will become one of us and like it!" Prince diamond hissed. 

"Over my crown as Moon Princess!" Sailor Moon barked. She had no idea how this situation was going to turn out. 

It was time for Sailor Acadia to change into a creature a little more severe. Her body was now incasing from the many threads of spider like webbing. This strange cocoon wasn't moving at all. She believed she was going to die at any second. It was nice, short life.

Wanting to do, Rio said, "I'm so sorry, everyone. I couldn't give my all!" 

The darkness surrounding her was the ending she didn't' want to see. She wanted to be around her friends and family. She didn't want to end like this. 

Then, it was going to change. The change was not what she wanted. It was more of outside force taking her and shaping her into a creature no one wanted to see unless it was the heat of dangerous combat. Rio was under complete submission for the taking.

The cocoon was raised to a higher plan. There in the brightest spot nearest the sun and the clouds, the darkness was going to reconstruct her body in the prefect image of a warrior hands down. A large dose of heat turning on the cocoon in to a large fire ball blazed in the sunlight. 

In the same time, Rio let out a scream of agony that she had never done before. She knew this was not the ending of her life. Instead she instantly believed that it could have been judgment of the wrongs she had done in the past. 

Then, it stopped. Rio didn't scream as in the previous times. Her energy was complete drained. The cocoon was now blackened by the electricity. 

Time was in complete stand still. 

A life was going to break out of the death once again like the countless times it had done in the past. 

Sailor Moon was caught between a rock and a hard place. She watched as Hotaru struggled with her father and the ghostly figure of mistress nine. She had to fight. Her mind was racing with a fever which she had before. She had no idea what this fever was like. She had talked to Ami about it dozens of times. Ami had chalked it up to heat of the battle. Ami could understand what Serena was going thought and told Serena that it wasn't a fever, this was her body telling her to not to give in. she raised her hopes if she could only sacrifice her life power in the wand she used. She had done it dozens of times. Was it fear she felt in her present state. She couldn't wonder about it for right now. 

"Serena…please, do something or all is lost!" a voice in her mind cheered in her idea.  
It seemed like the voice in her mind was all the people who she had cared for trying to help make the right idea work. 

"I will not fail!" Sailor moon thought before closing her eyes and lifting her wand near over her head. She was going to stop the Chaos from spreading. 

Then, something happened. Like a very service lighting storm brewing, the evil that came from nowhere in time was about to surface. The sky began to cloud up heavily. Sailor Moon was shaking inside, but she tried to remain as calm as she could. "This is for everything that I stand for!" she said before letting out her command, "Honey moon therapy…" 

The wand was starting to glow. It meant Sailor Moon was powering up for another attack. She didn't pay attention to the thundering. She needed to be strong. 

"You have no idea what we can do!" Professor Tomeo smiled darkly. He wanted to shove his daughter's head hard onto the pavement. He wanted to show her his will of about discipline. He was about to raise Hotura's head a little before he threw it down.  
Then, it happened. It really happened. The skies became red and full of fire. Then, the ground started to shake. Was it an earthquake? Rio one knew what was going on or coming next. 

Sailor Moon held firm on her grip. She couldn't let the wand slip out of her hands. She had a bad feeling if it did. Then, she was jolted up in the air. She didn't feel the earth shake until it was right under her. She screamed, "…RIGHT NOW!" 

A large bolt of light shot out of the wand. It headed for Prince Diamond. He ducked quickly to avoid the light. He hit the pavement quickly, then, felt the heat from the blast.

He wondered if Sailor moon was just bluffing. She appeared to be very angry. "What is she on?" he thought. His left arm slammed into the pavement, causing it near break open. He glanced up at her. The same look as before. The look of pure hate was in Sailor Moon's eyes. 

"You have no idea what she could do," Hotura gasped. She felt like her neck was about ready to snap. She could not move in her present situation. She was now crying from the pain. "Sailor moon is the greatest warrior!" 

"Mistress nine…this little girl is not able to fight back. She is prefect for the taking!" Professor Temoe said. His grip was still strong as he held fast to his daughter's head. He bent his head down to be at eye level. "You will be ours once again!"

As the dark past was starting to take a toe hold on the present, the lighting rumbled so headily. It began to dance over the heads of the people who were outside. Sailor moon tried not to look so frightened. 

There was a darker evil lurking in the shadows. The blackness oozed out of the ground like blood. It was glowed with a lighter shade of hunter green. Sailor moon turned to stare at the ooze. Hoping that it wouldn't attack her, Sailor Moon started to gear up for another attack. She heard a humming and cranking noise coming from the ooze. 

The situation was growing from bad to worst. Mistress nine placed a hand on Hotura's back. She could feel Hotura's power weakening. She was going to break into Hotura's soul one way or another. She uttered in hateful tones, "Little firefly…I'm going to crush you…now!" 

Hotura couldn't speak. The pressure from her father's grip was too much for her to bear. She was now crying, trying to free herself from it. She also felt the power of Mistress nine seeping in. the power was too much from her to bear. The power began to break her spirit. 

Then, the black ooze flew into a rage. It climbed up in to the sky at lighting speed. Sailor moon heard the noise coming from it. The humming grew louder as the ooze took form. Lighting raced all over the form, taking the appearance of human girl. Was this a new creature in which Galaxia had a handing? Sailor moon now stood in fear. She and the others watched as instantly the form became almost human. 

Quickly the human form surveyed the situation and lashed out at Prince Diamond. It felt the power of Prince Diamond. It knew he was evil. He was jolted to the ground in a heart beat. He felt like every bone in his body was about to rip apart. He lay there in the dirt with his body in sheer agony 

"What?" Sailor moon gasped. She had witnessed something that she had rarely seemed.

It was like nothing was stopping this creature. Sailor moon knew that the creature wasn't from here. It was not from the moon kingdom. This creature was from another time, another place.

Sailor Mars was going to use her flaming arrows on the creature. The creature knew about it. It raised its hand up towards the sky. Sailor mars felt her being picked up off the ground by the scurf of her neck like a cat. She was instantly tossed on to the pavement. She let out a scream when she landed. This was a warning to the sailor senshi to leave the cleaning up of the evil to this black creature.

Dusty felt like his heart was going to be exploded into an uncounted amount of pieces. He wanted to stop the pain. There was nothing to stand in the creature's way. Sailor moon wondered if Rio was connected to the suit in someway. Yet, she feared that Rio was being used as a bargaining chip of sorts. There had to be a reason or way to get through to the people who had Rio captive.

"What did you do that for?" she asked the creature.

The creature didn't speak. It remained quiet as it tried to think of a way driving out evil. Sailor moon stared at it for a while as through she was trying to get into the creature's thoughts.

"Why are you here?" Sailor Moon asked in calming voice. She felt her role as Queen of the moon Kingdom had to have a new chapter in its short span. She wanted to reason with this new creature.

The creature was instantly distracted from the séance by the noises of Professor Tomeo trying to kidnap his own daughter. She was now pinned to the ground with the force of Mistress nine nearly chocking her.

The flick of the wrist, professor Tomeo was pushed off to one side by the black creature. He felt like he was been kicked to one side. He wondered if Galaxia was upset with his work. Then, she sent this new creature to get rid of him.

"FATHER!" Hotura yelped as she saw her father being tossed to the edge by the use mind control.

"What is it doing?" Mistress nine said. She turned to stare at the professor. Then, she shifted her glance at the black creature. She began to feel fear like she hadn't before.

Then, the ground started to move. It was started out in a light quake, yet it made the trees dance a little and the phone wires sway. Finally the ground inside of the football field started to break apart. The black creature was drawn to the confusion in the stadium.

"The world is breaking apart into a war!" Rio thought. "There is nothing to stop the confusion. What will happen next?"

"I have found you!" a voice rang in Rio's mind.

"I can't remember who you are…yet you have been searching for me…why?" Rio thought.

"Because you are an animal that needs to be wiped off the list of the living!" the voice hissed.

"I am not…" Rio became very upset with the voice in her head. "…a beast!"

"Yes and I will control you!" the voice whispered in her mind.

The ground shook even harder. The black creature took one step and was hurled into the gate way of the stadium. The black creature felt something trying to crawl it way from the place where it was buried at.

The skies grew red with the fire of the ages of long ago. There were signs of the end of an age.

The beginning of another was just creeping along. What was there to stop it? No one knew the power of black creature. It was not like anything before.

The ground inside the middle of the football field became hot and steamy as if an unseen force was testing the grounds. It began to melt and ooze like molten glass, taking large amounts of heat. The steam began to vent itself through large cracks in the ground. The black creature let out a large bolt of energy from its body. It was although the suit was trying to take over the host's body, but the host (who was Rio at the time) tried to fight it off.

Then, five large coffin in length type tubes instantly bubbled up from the ground. Following them was a large amount of steam. The silver tubes glowed newly red hot as they came out of the ground.

"What is going on?" the black creature thought to itself as the tubes surfaced and resend on the now smoldering grass. It watched as the lighting started to dance around the tubes. It was a clear sign that tubes had some sort of life form inside.

"Welcome to the end of the world!" the voice said in the black creatures' head.

"No…it can't be happening!" Rio thought as she began to realize she was inside the suit. She was the black suited creature with a face shield which was also black. She was the black creature watching the work as it began to crumble right in front of her.

"What are you going to do?" the voice asked in her mind.

"I'm going to fight with ever breath!" she thought.

"Oh…cleaver girl!" the voice hissed as it nearly turned her blood into ice.

"What am I going to do?" Rio thought. She knew someone was controlling the situation behind the séance. She wanted to find out whom. Yet, now wasn't the most idea of times.

"Battle will take place in one hundred and twenty seconds!" another voice boomed in her ears.

"Battle…" Rio thought to herself. She was utterly startled at the though of another battle, yet this time she wasn't a sailor scout. With her mind racing, Rio thought, "How am I going to fight without my powers? I am Sailor Acardia, yet I am dressed like this!"

She glanced down at the suit.

Voices whispered in her mind, telling her that the suit she was wearing at a sort of power suit meant for battle.

"Power suit," she thought. Then, she remembered seeing a few anime shows and one Japanese monster movie. She wondered if someone was making up a suit off those shows and she was a test subject. Then, she wondered if she was going to be a power range that made her head ached. She hated the power rangers when she believed that she avoid afternoon TV.

"What are you thinking about?" the first voice questioned Rio.

"Nothing!" Rio thought that she was safe from prying ears and eyes. Yet, someone had done the most incredible thing in her world. They were able to read her troughs and watch over her without leaving a trace. Not even Alex could do that. She wondered for a length if a heart beat she was being watched from somewhere else in the universe. A horrific and instant flash back slammed into her mind.

"What is she going to realize is not a normal way of battle!" a hummed around her. It was like the spirits of the unborn were hanging around her body. Rio always had a link to the three worlds of the past, present and the future.

"Normal battle!" she thought. She wondered was normal since she was even. Things were very much not normal. Even faster she became a sailor senshi; she had a normal life in London. She lived with the knowledge that she was part of something big. Yet, the stranger events since she and the others were in America had been not all that normal. She wondered if she was going to crazy trying to figure out what was going on. She couldn't remember a past she had some sort of link to. She wasn't going to be let go that easily. She realized that when the suit didn't to respond to her mind orders. She didn't want to stay in on spot if she was going to battle. The idea of being a sitting duck wasn't going to be sitting well with her.

"Battle sequence being in four… three…two…one!" a voice rang over her ears.

Then, the ground started to quake an install. There was no warning as six long tubes burst out of the warm sticky gerund after the dirt had turned into ooze. The tubes were nearly eight feet in length and four feet in with. They seemed to be very smooth in appearance. There was a humming which came from each tube. They quickly changed color from silver to molten red. It seemed like something inside was trying to break free from the possible years of sleep that the creatures or humans inside where forced into.

"What's going on here?" Rio thought. She was terrified inside. She knew evil from all the battles for the moon kingdom, yet this was a darker one which she was not using to. This evil was not like any she had felt.

"What battle would you like to choose from?" a fourth voice asked.

"What battle would I like pick from!" she gasped. "What in the world?" she wondered if she was loosing what little sanity she had left.

The ground was now a liquid mass turning into ash. It was through the ground didn't have time to cool down just yet. The humming didn't end. It grew as the tubes turned back to their silver forms. They began to crack open with ear splitting ringing. Black creature instantly clamped down on her ears as her hands bolted to the sides of her head. Rio felt the noise ripping through her. She didn't want to quit, yet the noise was trying to break her in two. She felt another presence inside of her own mind. She wanted to scream from the pain. In a heart beat, the noise had stopped. Was the fact she had instantly lost her hearing or was it the suit protecting her. "What's going on now?" she wondered.

Five tubes instantly surfaced on the oozing ground. They were in appearance like almost small lifts shafts yet, they were smaller in size. They looked like there were eight feet across and five feet in want. White hot glow coming from the outside was a clear marker stating that they were causing the ground to change.

"The smell is not normal…" Rio thought as the acrid scent of melting direct stung her face.

The suit reacted to the smell and the heat repeating from the site. It began to tightening up towards Rio's own body as though it was a suit being costumed fitted for her. She gasped at first, feeling frightened at the session. She tried to be calm about everything, yet this was the first time she had no control over something as small as a nano-suit.

"Battle suit conforming into host's thoughts!" a cold metallic voice said in Rio's mind.

"Enough!" she nearly shouted. Rio was growing tired of the voice and the feeling of having no control over own body.

"In three, two…one!" the voice continued.

"Get me out of this suit!" Rio thought. She had no powers of her own with this suit. She was not a sailor senshi. She was sitting duck just unable to move.

The tubes were lining themselves into a form of a circle. They hummed even louder. It was like they were contacting another part of the galaxy firm where they were where at. They were getting ready themselves for the battle. The tubes began to crack open from the heat. They were lighting glowing from the inside. Thin little streams of black ooze came from the inside. Rio could smell the heat and the ooze from just a mile away. The smell was strong. It was like the ooze inside was going to do its thing, what that thing was…Rio couldn't see.

The lighting was building up in a large ring from away around the tubes. Rio wondered if she was safe or not. There were two sheltered stands with doorways leading into the restrooms. She wanted to see if she could run to the one closest to her. A large bolt of lighting flashed fifty feet from her. She thought twice to in staying put. She had a good taste of fear in her mouth.

"Why is there a lighting storm over the stadium?" Dusty asked Steve as he and his friend nearly ran for cover back to their car. He heard the noise of the thunder as he tried to open the door. He and others knew that only place safe during a storm outside of a house was a car.

Yet, the lighting didn't have a random pattern to go to. Instead it stayed in one place. It hovered over the stadium. It was very much a controlled area. The heat started to spill out of the stadium as a warning sign. This was not meant for anyone to watch. This was a suit battle in order to test the suit out. It was like someone wanted to see if the suit could stand up to any sort of combat with a living human unused.

"I wondered if I am going to be last one standing." Rio thought.

The lighting took aim as if it down poured itself across the tubes. There was a flash of bright red hot light coming from the tubes. The ooze turned black before turning a red hot grey. The ooze was like the same stuff that brought the black creature to life. Rio watched as the ooze twisted and turned into a large pillars of grey stone. It was very much a sight to behold.

Then, the lighting caused the tubes to catch fire. Rio didn't know what to do next. She was going to turn and run, but the suit was making her stay put. She thought, "Now, I'm going from the frying pan and into the fire!"

She noticed the fire staying in one place. The tubes were keeping the fire under control of sort. "Battle will take place in five minutes!" a voice rang in her mind.

The tubes were now on fire with the heat of the sun.

"Battle…with those things. How can I deal with that?" Rio thought after the fact of the tubes were how red hot.

"What else?" a voice whispered loudly in her easers.

The fire had died down as fast as it came out. The lighting started up again this time to bring life to the black ooze. The black ooze shot up twisting itself into human forms. There were clumps of lighting that aided in the development of the human type forms. Rio stood there like a deer caught in the headlight. There were five forms in the blackened ooze.

"What am I thinking?" Rio asked herself. She wondered if she had been losing it even before she got out of the building. "I have to fight…"

Feeling her arms raising up towards her chest, Rio had to think of a quick way of fighting before she would fall into the wrong hands. Yet, the transformation of the figures from the black ooze was taking a long time. Then, the figures took an eerie human type form. It shocked Rio as she watched them change into tall male type figures.

"Human combat seems will be on the battle grounds in five seconds!" the voice in Rio's mind hummed. She watched as the ooze took the last seconds in forming into the human type creatures. She gasped as she noticed each one of the forms had very white faces. Was she going to fight the dead?

"Five…four…three… two," a voice started to tick off the seconds before the human type creatures were going to bring to live.

"I have no sailor power!" she thought. Then, her heart started to pound, was it because she was scared or was it because her outrage of having no sailor powers was causing it to pound.

The twist figures were now cooling down into a group of humans with battle armor which was menacing in appearing. They stood nearly seven feet tall in long boots with three inch spiked heels. The boots were a mix of bloodied red, black and silver. They were tightly wrapped around the feet of the humans as thought they were a second skin. From the feet and legs were a wrapped up in form of leather type cases that were almost riding pants which were contented with large chains or large clips made out of silver. The middle of these types of odd customs was a statement of who these men were.

She stared at the strange thing happening right in front of her. She realized she was not up against monsters or the dark kingdoms. These creatures were men that were genetically altered. "What are you going to do?" she asked herself.

She knew everything was very grim.

"I'm going to fight!" she said in a whisper. Watching the human type creatures come to life, Rio thought, "I am not going to lose!"

The creatures were now taking shape as a final form. They were opening their eyes as the world cowered before them. It was like days before that these creatures fought before Rio was even thought of. These cerates were men generally altered into monster by a force that was even unknown to the Moon Kingdom. Rio was going to think of a way bringing the sailor Senshi to the battle in order to help her out. She heard a crack of thunder. Lighting began to form a large net over the stadium walls. It was taking shape like a dome. It was like someone didn't want Rio to leave or any of the sailor Senshi to enter the place.

"Great!" Rio thought has she quickly glanced up at the white hot dome of lighting. "If I don't win…what will happen?"

"You will die!" the voice who spoke to Rio in the past few minutes hissed in her mind.

The words hit harder than any other words. She wondered what will happen to her. She gasped, "Wonderful, I don't like those words!"

"You have no choice in the matter!" the voice said.

"I thought I did!" a voice similar to Rio's rang in her mind. Was she going mad? Looking down, then up…Rio wondered if she had a chance. She noticed a few coloured lights flashed in front of her eyes. She was a bit puzzled about them. After the operation to restore her eyes, Terri told her about her eyes playing tricks on her. The muscles were pressed down so such a long time, she would have problems.

"Battle will begin in five…" a voice said in a metical ring for a second time. The suit was doing a second check. It was like there was a tiny glitch in the system for a second or two.

"What's going on with my eyes?" she said to herself.

The lights had not stopped. They began to flash into numbers. Things were trying to make some sense of the situation. They were going hairy as the numbers dwindled down to the last two.

Rio braced herself as best as she could, she was trying to take a breath to calm herself.

"The only thing I have to see is my own death or another day of living!" she thought in a very reckless and James Bond sort of way. 

"BEING!" a countless voice screamed in her ears as a large flash of red light smashed into her eyes nearly blinding her.

She felt the suit coming alive as she began to run towards the group of creatures. A cat-like man growled, "Wow…look who's coming see us!"

Rio felt her heart race in her throat. She didn't want to fight someone she didn't have a plan of action. She wondered if they were going to fight or just stand there. A man with silver eyes stared at black wrapped Rio. Rio was turning white inside as her heart jack hammered in her chest.

"Who is that?" the man with the silver asked the others. He was unfamiliar with her. This was really the first time he and others had stood face to face with a young girl warrior.

"Another Black Alpha want-a-be!" the man with a scare on his left eye snorted. He glanced at the black creature who was now slowly powering up for the battle.

"Black Alpha?" the man with the silver eyes said. Placing a hand on his chin, he wondered out loud where he had heard the name before. He tried to scan the creature as she began to run towards them.

The sky turned so dark, it looked like twilight.

"You are the black creature called alpha…are you not?" the man with a scar over his left eye asked. He glanced at her suit.

"Yes…" Rio said as her voice sounded very hollow and cold. There was a voice distorter in the face mask. "I am… are you willing to stop this fighting!"

The words seemed too automatic that, it sounded like a plea for peace than just a simple teenager's request. She adjusted herself on the hot ground. The steam from the melted ground was still warm. She had to stop for a second for her mind to get use to the idea her whole body was wrapped up in a protective plastic suit. A thought of being caught up in another anime classic called bubblegum crisis was a mind altering session. She stood tall as she asked, "Which one will stop before we even got started. I don't belong here. I am a Sailor Soldier!"

None of the others spoke. They glared at the young dark covered warrior.

Then, the one with the scar over his left eye said, "Never heard of you!"

Finally he used his kenotic powers with a flick of the hand threw Rio sailing across until she met up with a brick wall. She felt the bricks biting into her flesh. She winced, trying not to feel anything. She didn't want to be a weakling. She had to be strong as she slid down to the ground. Feeling the wind leavening her body, Rio tried at the despair point to be focused.

"What…is it over?" the cat man asked with a mocking surprise gaze in his green eyes.

"Don't be so excited to see this one gone. She was just becoming a warm up act!" the man with the scar over his left eye said.

"A warm up act!" a man whose face was very badly scarred asked with a growl. He and others knew that Rio was just a girl who shouldn't be fighting at all. They didn't know she was a Sailor Senshi for love and justice.

"The creature is a girl!" the cat man said. He noticed the shape of the suit.

"What?" the heavily facial scared man said.

"I have a feeling that Black alpha is a girl!"

"No way!" the man with the silver hair said as the rest stared at Black Alpha. "It's girl!"

"What is this feeling I'm getting off those creeps!" Rio thought.

"Are you sure?" the cat man asked. He turned to glare at the man with a scared left eye.

"Yea…the last time was a man…and he cleaned our clocks!" the man with the silver hair said.

"Oh…am I certain this one is a girl!" the man with the scared left eye said. His right eyebrow shot up with an odd glare. Why should he and the other four be fighting a young girl? He didn't have time to wonder. In his mind, the words of war buzzed in the darkest parts.

"Then, fearless leader….what do we do?" the man with the sliver hair asked.

"We…" the man with the scared left eye began to say. He scanned the area around Black alpha. "…destroy her!"

He knew he and the others were doing the right thing in their preprogrammed history. He remembered how the past, they were hunted down like dogs. Then, they were ordered not to dirty the earth. They wanted to be free from everyone dealing with the Galaxy Academy.

"I hope you are doing the right thing. She doesn't look like she could stand in our way!" the man with a heavily scared face said. He had feeling that Rio was just a little girl who was weak.

"Looks are very dissevering. It's all the way she can fight!" the man with the scared left eye said with tilt of the head. He was going to attack with all the force that he could muster.

"Watch out!" a voice rang in Rio's mind. She instantly jerked her head back before leaping into the air. She was going to be very careful in the battle with some help from an unknown source. She landed on her feet very quickly. It was like she was playing a RPG on line. She knew what she was going to do with a sharp and focused mind.

"What?" the man with the scared left eye said. He and others noticed how fast Rio was learning on her own.

"She was just as fast as the last one!" the cat man purred with surprise. He glanced at the wall to see if there was any sort of support behind it. There was nothing. He asked if he could scout around the area outside of the stadium. The man with the scarred left eye thought it was a good idea. There would possible hostages near by. "Good. I wouldn't be long!" the cat man said before leaping into the air. He was going to land on the middle of the lawn of east gate. Glancing around to see what he could terrify, the cat man noticed the scene standing just a few feet away. He smiled as he sized up two poor excuses for humans, one being Prince Diamond and the others was Sailor moon. He said, "Wow! What fun this is going to be!"

There was a scream which all the Black Alpha's senses seemed to be instantly drawn to them. Rio wanted to save who needed help. She had to, yet she was pinned down herself in more ways than one.

"Are you going to play with us?" the man with the scared left eye asked in a mocking tine.

Black Alpha turned with her anger peaking through. She ordered, "What is this…."

Rio maybe standing just a few feet away from the strange looking creatures, yet her anger was radiating so much that it could be felt. Her heart tightened in anger when she heard the noises of people screaming and shouting in mass confusion.

"What is that?" Sailor moon nearly screamed. Her voice sounded like she was going to be skewered.

"Don't know!" Sailor Jupiter shouted back in fear. She noticed the large cat like creature. She wondered if she and others were reliving a flash back to the time where a best friend named Ken was attacked by a Cardin from the Doom tree.

"Let me guess," the cat man growled as he placed a hand up to his chin, "Super heroes come in little girls with silly little costume!"

"What?" Sailor Jupiter snapped back at the cat man's statement. "Why you…"

She lunged towards him with her one arm out stretched. She aimed for his face. The cat man read her thoughts in a blink of an eye. Backing away to pull out his one hand with a set of razor sharp claws, the cat man was going to cut the situation down to size with Sailor Jupiter. He drew back his intended hand for the kill.

"Supreme Thunder…" Sailor Jupiter cried out as she ran towards the cat man.

"Shut up…little girl!" the cat man hissed threw a controlled opened hand punch.

"SAILOR JUPITER!" Sailor moon screamed. She had to do something before Sailor Jupiter was sliced into shreds. Sailor moon raised her wand to the air. Acting out of her own instincts, she called out, "Honeymoon therapy kiss!"

A bright light came out of her wand. She aimed towards the cat man's face. He knew what was going on, yet he couldn't dodge it. He felt the blow as Sailor Jupiter threw herself down onto the pavement.

The cat man hissed as he tried to move. Then, he felt the blow of the light, slamming him squarely in the mouth and nose. He fell backwards if only for a few minutes. He never felt any sort of power like that before. He realized he had got too far with these little girls.

"Sailor Jupiter… are you o.k.?" Luna asked as she was trying to review the battle damage.

"Yes…I'm just a little bruised!" Sailor Jupiter huffed, feeling her ribs which had been slammed into the pavement after she had dodged the blast from Sailor Moon's attack.

"Is there a human inside that creep?"

Sailor Mars instantly closed her eyes to let even a little of her powers of her inner mind tried to hone in what was behind the cat man. There was a man years ago, but the creature had won after a figure in which the man had died. The pictures were coming so quickly Sailor Mars was terrified at the scene she was watching. Opening her eyes, Sailor Mars said, "he was once human, but there not even a chance of changing him or the others back…"

"What?" sailor Moon gaped. She wondered if Mars was telling the truth.

"If there is no way…then we are doomed!" Luna cried out. She knew the situation appeared to be at a dead end. How could the other scouts come? There was not enough power for Sailor Teleport. They had to make the best of the outcome.

Out of her own desperation, Sailor Moon said, "Let's combined forces!"

The other Sailors didn't have to think. Sailor power in the combined format was a good idea for the worst. "We don't have enough for full power!" Sailor Mars gasped as she noticed that there were only a few sailors to help out.

Feeling determined to use her powers at their fullest potential, Sailor Moon said, "I know!"

There was another scream coming from Hotura's end. She noticed a man with silver eyes and black hair was gearing up for an attack. She, Mistress Nine and her father were trapped. This was no normal monster. His body hummed with angry. It was like he was carrying a lighting charged body suit on his frame. He smiled darkly as he said, "Well..Well…well, what a pretty sight we have here!"

Hotura gasped as she realized, the silver haired man was carrying the same power as Sailor Jupiter was. Yet, she knew the power was only for good. She didn't want to use it for evil. She could feel evil, cold and black entering her space. She had enough of Mistress Nine pushing her around for one last time. She raised her left hand into the air and called out, "Sailor Saturn…make up!"

Mistress Nine felt the power of rebirth and death swirling around her. She screamed as she and Professor Temeo were thrown out of the way. In an instant, Horuta's clothes changed into that of Sailor Saturn. Holding up her hand still, Sailor Saturn's powers brought forth the Silent Glaive.

"What the…" the man with the silver hair said. He realized a little girl was now standing in front of him with a very large weapon.

Pointing the glaive at the man with the silver hair, Sailor Saturn asked in a cool voice, "Why are you here?"

The silver haired man quipped, "To have fun!"

Before Sailor Saturn could say another word, another explosion rocked the stadium. The wall near the right side of the stadium was reduced to rock. Black Alpha took her anger out on the man with the heavily scarred face. The scarred face man was lying amongst the rubble of the form wall. He was unconscious for only a minute or two. He painstakingly woke up with his head ringing. He realized after a second what had happened to him. He sat up to watch as the man with the scarred left eye and Black Alpha battle it out. He didn't know that Rio who was black alpha had some sword training. She was trying to think of a way of out getting her opponent's way. There was nothing to stop him from hurting her the worst way.

"Shoot man!" the man with the silver hair gasped. He knew Black alpha was just had her window of opportunity opened when he and the cat like man were gone. There was only three left. The shadow fox man was sticking to the man with scared left eye. Shadow fox man was born deaf and could read and relay messages from another people's minds. He was like a walking AI. He always worked together with the two main fighters as a back up. The other two were scouts. The silver haired man instantly teleport to the man with the heavily scarred face.

"What's going on?" the heavily scared man asked, rubbing his head. There was a small lump on his forehead. Feeling the lump on his forehead, he believed he was not as strong as Black Alpha.

Looking over the use to be part of a wall, the silver haired man said, "You got zapped and good!"

Snorting with a pained smirk, the facially scared man said, "Yea. The new Black Alpha is not playing fair. She had some nasty tricks up her sleeve."

"So, Star-lover was right, Black Alpha is a girl."

The two flinched as they heard lighting over head. One or the other who were battling in the stadium was drawing upon lighting. On realizing her suit was heightening her own abilities, Rio was now growing anger. She had to stop these beasts from hurting her friends. She had to realize she was using her suit as a divining rod of sorts. With that much power, she had to be careful. She didn't want to hurt the ones she loved.

"That little girl has a kick to her!" the man with the silver hair said, bending down to see if the man with the heavily scarred face needed any help.

"My God…" Sailor moon gasped as she stood close by the stadium. She was now terrified at the prospects of a new enemy.

Sailor Mars said as she stood next to Sailor Moon, "We have a new one to face!"

Without warning, a stray bolt of lighting flew a few feet from Sailors Moon and Mars. It was like the lighting was trying to follow a path of the person who was asking it to come. Sailor Moon was thrown down to the ground and she heard the noise of someone telling her to get down. Her eyes shifted their gaze up to Prince Diamond who had pushed her down to the ground. She asked, "What?"

Lighting sizzled above their heads for another minute.

"I don't want to you to get hurt…that's all!" Prince diamond said as he lay next to her on the pavement.

"Me?" Sailor Moon asked as her feelings were now very much tangled in her mind. She wondered why Prince Diamond was now so concerned about her. He had still had feelings for her, yet he wanted her for one thing, power. She wondered of only for a minute why have them now.

"Yes. You are the most important person for now!" he said, forcing a smile on his lips. He was trying to fake his way out of stealing power, but he had to protect her in pay back for her kindness years ago. He said, "You have so much to give!"

He was giving her chain a good yank. He was going to butter her up before letting her defenses down. That was he was hoping for her to do just before he kidnapped her again.

Sailor moon was going to say something. The two heard the ground shake once again. Was this the end of the world as they thought? She tried to remain calm, but her heart was beating so fast with fear that she wanted scream. Turning to see Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon said, "We have no choice in the matter. We have to be on our toes!"

The two waited for a long time until the ground stopped shaking. Prince Diamond helped Sailor Moon stand up. He could see a little of what was going on with the battle inside of the stadium. He was shocked to see the creature named Black alpha was thrown to the man with the scarred left eye by the fox like human. This strange game of last one standing was getting intense. The man with the scarred left eye was now behind of Black alpha, pinning her to him. She was getting the stuffing knocked out of her. She wanted to end. She aimed another power jolt towards the two. She hoped it would split the two into one left standing. Nothing. She was still pinned to the man with the scarred left eye.

"What are you going to do?" the man asked with a leering look in his eyes. He felt Rio struggle against his weight. He tightened his grip on her wrist. She let out a hiss as she turned her head towards the score board.

The fox type human stared at Black Alpha. He was going to take her down somehow without hurting the man with the scarred left eye. He or the other man wasn't excepting her to attack from the ground up.

It was the suit drawing upon the electricity from the ground. There were many spotlights and the stadium itself with all its electric gear, perfect for a quick jolt of high end energy. Black Alpha felt the pull of the electricity sounding her.

The man with the silver hair noticed his powers being drawn as well. He was outraged with the idea of someone else taking his powers away from him. He had to fight back in order not to stop his powers from leaving his body. He was going to turn his life force powers from positive to negative. He was going to give Rio a bit of bad energy.

"Come on…let me go!" Rio ordered the fox like man in a pleading voice.

There was no response from him outside of a dark and small flick of a grin on his lips. She felt her wrist bone starting to ache from the pressure. She thought of a plan to break herself free from the man. She had to draw upon the power she had in the suit. Yet, there was electrify bolts of air coming from all directions. The fox man jumped back from a few stray bolts of lighting coming from the skies. He didn't realize he was standing in the direct line of her power. As he took steps in taking Rio down a few pegs, the fox man didn't let go. Rio came with the fox man. She didn't' want to be jerked around. With a few a quick turns of the wrist, she built up an eclectically shock. She let the fix man have it. His response was a loud howl of pain and she was nearly thrown to the ground. She

jumped back with a netting of bolts of eclectic following her. That was the wrong proceed. She didn't have time to think of the man with the scarred left eye having any sort of amities of sonic speed or instant teleportation. He stood in front of her with his eyes blazing in hate. Teaching her a lesson in periodical was going to be his first act in breaking down Rio's spirit. He was trying to grab her. He didn't want to her escape. He wanted her to fight with him.

She had a little bit of luck as she gave the same treatment she gave to the fox man. She dodged the man with the scarred left eye in almost dance like movement of her body arching down in a few seconds before swiveling up on the other side. She took her one hand and gave the man a good shove. The man with the scared left eye felt all the weight of the hand hitting him in the stomach. He jerked back so quickly that he nearly collided with the fox man. The fox man was leaning forward to make a grab for Rio.

Rio thought of teleportation before she got slammed. She didn't realize her body suit was in-tuned with her thoughts. She felt her body leaving in an instant. Then, she was faintly outside of the stadium. She glanced around to see if anyone was still standing.

Sailor moon nearly screamed as she saw Black Alpha standing in the street. Lighting hugged in a near perfect liquid form around Black Alpha. This was no normal creature. Sailor Mars said, "Why are you screaming?"

"I feel scared," Sailor Moon whined. She was acting a little bit on her normal side as she tried to face a new enemy.

"Why?" Sailor Mars said; she had a feeling that Sailor moon was using anything for a copout.

"Did you ever have a dream that you wished…it never happened." Sailor Moon looked like she was frightened at the whole world crumbling in front of her. This wasn't happening in front of her.

Rio had enough of this fighting. She didn't want to fight any more. She was going to turn the tables on the men who were ganging up on her. She knew her body suit could stand up to anything. Yet, she was pitted against some heavy appointees. The idea of getting back these new monsters was going to be a very tough bout. She felt suit controlling her too much. She fought on her own terms.

Faintly she decided to throw everything at them. She had thought of catching all of the monsters on a net of sorts and put them in a vault or cage. How was she going to do it?

She remembered a game Reenie and her friends would play in Abby's backyard. It involved the use of soft balls, a few rather large rackets and all over sized net. She had watched the game once when she and Hotura was going to pick up Reenie and Chibi-chibi. The game was made up as the girls played, yet there was something about simple stricture of the game. If she could play the game with the use of a lighting ball, then she would have an upper hand of sorts.

"What is she thinking of?" the man with the scarred left eye thought. He wondered what was going on with her.

"Who can I take down first?" Rio thought. She glared at the man with the silver hair. He appeared to be very strong in his powers. He could counter attack with his jolts. She had to be careful. Then, she wondered back to the man with the heavily scarred face and the cat man. Where were they at?

She was just one person. There was no way of catching each one on her own. Or was there?

Sailor Moon watched as Black Alpha sized up in haste the cat man. She didn't realize that the Cat man was going to attack Black Alpha in the quickest way he could think of. He could wait and sneak up on her while she had her back was turned. It was too easy. The thrill of the attack was lost if she wasn't ready for him.

Black Alpha had other plans. She kept the one idea of playing that strange game in the back of her mind. She had another good idea of throwing a net over the man with the scarred left eye, the cat man and the man with the silver hair. She wasn't going to let them leave just yet. Then, after whining them up in the net, Rio had a thought of putting into a catatonic state. There was a stunning program in the suit. She had to learn quickly to use it or end up a pile of ash.

The man with the scared left eye stood up in a careful movement. He felt the pain from the blow to his stomach. Scanning around for Black Alpha, the man with the scarred left eye asked, "Where did that creep go!"

The fox man shook his head. He knew that Rio had teleported out of the stadium, but where. She had to leave up to chance.

The suit responded quickly to her wishes. The lighting came into view as she held up her hands. She had flexed her hands quickly choosing a spot of the other body where it could be the most effective in taking the opponent down.

The man with the scarred left eye noticed another power surge. He wondered if Rio was going to aim at him again. He was wrong as the power surge instantly threw the fox man for a loop. The fox man was standing behind him as a sort of cover. That wasn't going to work. These attacks were hidden from their view. Was Rio using a different tactic?

The fox man didn't feel it coming. Rio had let a power jolt slid from her suit to the ground. She had reprogrammed the power jolt to seek it her enemies. She had to be quick. The fox man nearly jumped out of his skin as the large jolt of power hit from underground.

Rio said, "One down!"

She was looked up at the sky for a second. It was like she was half excepting an attack from a much known source. She had to be ready for anything. Then, she felt a jolt of heat hitting her from all sides. In a surprised attack the heavily scarred fact man took it upon himself to attack her with a ring of fire. He knew the power of fire was his own life force.

"Burn…baby…burn!" the man with scarred face hissed. He had teleports to the edge of the field.

Rio was terrified, but she had to keep herself focused. She thought, "It's only a trick. If they wanted to get rid of me...they would have done it years ago!"

Rio's body suit reacted in a strange way of bringing a quick shower to her by using the power of drawing water from the skies. Feeling the cool water hitting her body suit, Rio noticed the flames dying down from the fire.

"What?" the man cat man hissed. He was noticed the small isolated rain fall shrouding Black Alpha. He was both outrage a little and curious. He was going to found out what were the limits of Black Alpha's body suit.

Then, she quickly rerouted the smoke back to the man with the scarred face. She said, "Where there's smoke, there is fire!"

The smoke instantly burst into flame. The man with the scarred face howled as he felt the fire sparks hit him in the face. He rapidly covered his face with his hands. He said, "I'll get you for that!"

"Not in this life time!" Black Alpha jerked her head a little. Her reaction sent the man with the scarred face slamming into the ground. He was blasted by a kinetic surge from Black Alpha. He didn't realize that the body suit she was wearing began to take over the complete battle.

"Get her!" the man with the scarred left eye yelped.

Black alpha was going to attack, yet she had an even better plan. She was going to let the electric break into smaller sections and fully attack the creatures who were trying to hurt her. She raised her hands up into the air. She felt the energy pulsing in her hands. The ball of energy was coming full force.

"What…" the man with the scarred left eye gasped out of shock.

"She is not lying back down!" the cat man said, his eyes grew wide.

"No…" hissed the man with heavily scarred face. He knew what was going to happen next. He had feeling that Rio was learning so quickly about the suit, it was frightening. "We are going to get it now!"

As if an answer to the attack, the man with the silver hair said, "I'll take care of it!"

Rio knew that the silver haired man was coming. He wasn't expecting her attack. She whipped around in a heart beat to greet the silver haired man with a large jolt of electricity. She shoved the ball into his chest, casing him to instantly collapse to the ground. He let out a loud gasp as he stared blankly at her. She said, "Got two!"

"She is knocking us down at rapid speed!" the man with heavily scarred face said. He realized she was going to trap them into a place with no return. He had a very terrible feeling that their mission was going to fail miserably.

The man with the scarred left eye glanced at the fox man. He gave the orders to stop Black Alpha cold. The fox man nodded before teleporting again. The fox man appeared in a heart beat. Yet, she was ready for him. She whipped around to launch a jolt of power into the fox man. The fox man howled in pain as he felt the ball hitting him in the belly.  
"Three!" she thought.

Then, she watched as the fox man fell to the ground. He reeled in pain as she stepped over him. She took careful aim when the idea of the trapping the creature in a shield of energy. He wasn't going anywhere soon. She spun around, holding out her one hand. The ball dropped to the ground encasing the monster inside. The man with the heavily scarred face howled as he knew he was trapped inside of the dome.

Rio was now down to two monsters left. She had to be quick in order to free herself from the suit. She was suspecting the catman instantly sneaking up on her with one claw like hand out stretched. She had her back turned for only a second, but it afforded her foe just enough time to try to attack her from the back. Feeling a set of razor sharp claws ripping through her suit, Rio let out a scream. The cat man was going to settle Rio down with another claw attack. She gritted her teeth as she prepared for another attack on her own. She was drawing the lighting from the skies for one final sweep. Feeling like the body suit had very limited time for any more battling after the attack from the cat man, Rio had to think fast as the blood started to ooze out of the cuts on her back.

"Little girls shouldn't be playing with men!" the cat man growled with a smirk on his lips. He was standing on one side of Black alpha. His face was so close; Rio could hear the deep purr coming from the cat man's throat.

Catching her breath, Rio wasn't going to wimp out. She said, "Guess again, little kitty…I'm full of surprises!"

She threw down her free hand towards the ground. A large bolt of lighting slammed into the cat man, instantly knocking him unconscious. She jumped back when the bolt reached the cat man. She was now at the gate's edge. "One left…."she thought as the two stared at each other.

Rio feeling all the power coming from the suit as well as her own adrenalin punching holes in her mind, she said, "Trip...trip...trip! The tick tock man is whining down!"

"What?" the man with the scarred left eye gaped. He wondered if Rio as black alpha had finally lost senses. He had a feeling he had to play this game out in order to survive. He had to for his friends. Yet, how was he going to take his friends from this place with no space ship.

"There is no more time for you or your friends. I said that you leave now. I have enough of your style of fighting. There is another battle that I have to fight in. there is no more room any other sort of combat!" Rio said.

"You little…" the man with the scarred left eye hissed. He started to run towards Rio. He wasn't going to take her bad mouthing him or his friends any longer. Yet, he didn't realize what was going to happen.

The skies seemed to clear for a minute or two. Then, they parted as through they were going to stop with the light show. It was going to be a very dangerous trick. The air grew warm. All became very quiet. It was like the air hummed with the warmth. It was so strange.

There was a stillness which was shattered in a heart beat. Lighting when heated the very air into a red that of the colour of blood emptied into the air from the very heavens in which it was made.

It was the beginning for the end for the creatures that came out of the ground. The creatures stood in a calming stance. It was like they had dropped their guards.

Then, it happened. The lighting flew out from the clouds, red and hot nearly causing the very air to catch fire. "This is going to be the last time I have to face your kind…I hope forever. You may never know what you have just started. Yet, I will put an end to your doings!" Rio thought.

The lighting fell onto the beasts that fought Rio. She had brought her powers to the peak of her. The lighting trapped the beasts in one crushing blow. They screamed as the lighting opened a door from another dimension. Rio pushed the beasts into the hole with her mind in a heart beat. Then, she teleported herself away of the stadium before the hole collapsed.

Then, the beasts were gone out of sight for a while.

Finally, the fighting had ended.

Rio held her breath as the power left her body. The suit had disappeared from her body causing her own clothes to melt back onto her body.

The teleportation was quick. She had no idea what was going to happen next.

Dusty who had a long bout with pain was suddenly freed from it. He was huddled in a ball on the ground, stopped his suffering. He instantly relaxed as he drew in a large breath of air. He sat up when Steve said, "Are you all right, mate?"

Trying to piece things together that weren't his in the first place, Dusty said, "I'm not really sure. I can feel pain…but I am not capable of knowing where it came from!"

"You look awful…you need to go to the clinic and have they looked you over!" Steve said as he shook his head.

"I feel the same way inside. Rio…where are you?" Dusty wondered loudly, his fears of a possible kidnapping made things worst.

"Look you are lucky you found her when you did, Seiya!" a voice said.

Rio was in a half waking world. She tried to open her eyes. She felt a hand holding her hand. She wondered if it was Seiya holding her hand. She asked, "Where I am?"

"You're in the nurse's station. We found you lying on the ground…" Seiya's voice was gentle in its tone.

"Where's Dusty!" she asked slowly. On opening her eyes, Rio noticed Seiya sitting at her bed side. He was dressed in t-shirt and cut off jeans. He wasn't going to be noticed by the possible fans if he looked like any other college student want to be.

"He's at the nurse's desk. He looks like he got a very bad shock. What happened to you?" he asked.

Feeling the tiny nips of pain darting in her mind, Rio didn't try to piece anything together. She wanted to forget everything that had happened to her after the lights went out at the radio station and before she woke up in the nurse's station. How could she explain it? She said, "Seiya…I really don't remember. I'm sorry, mate…but, I don't remember a thing!"

"That's O.K" Seiya smiled, shrugging his shoulders. He talked to Serena about the attack from Prince Diamond and Professor Tomeo. She explained what had happened to Rio, but after Rio had disappeared. Serena didn't see her again until they had found Rio unconsciousness on the lawn near the stadium.

Feeling all the power inside, melting inside of her soul, Rio said, "I feel strangely cold. I want to go home!"

"In a little while…" Seiya said as he checked his watch. "The nurse wants to check you out!"

"That's fine," she sighed. The two heard Dusty's voice as he asked for the nurse to please stop shinning a light in his eyes. Apparently, the power surge that Rio had used in her battle in the body suit was just too much for him. He had a strong connection to her. It was like they could feel each other's thoughts. Rio's grandfather always believed in the story of two children born with a line of thought between them. People either thought he was crazy or that Rio and Dusty were those children.

Then, Steve's voice chided, "You get into too much trouble when you are looking for Rio!"

"Stupid!" Dusty yipped back as his voice became harsh. He was trying to defend Rio's innocent.

"There is nothing that you can do when she's gone. Remember, she is hurt or scared about something, you must cut all ties!" another voice said.

Rio was a little taken aback with the idea of the statement. Plus the other person talking got the wheel if her mind spinning. Who was it? She tried to piece things together before a figure stood at the curtain separated the stalls. She noticed the figure's outline.

"Rio…I need to talk to you," the figure said. The figure pulled back the curtain and Jakten was standing at the stall opening.

Rio's heart sank just a little. To her realization, the owner of the voice was none other than Jakten. She was upset with herself. She had no idea that Jakten was keeping an eye on her. Yet, she had to keep her identification as a Sailor Senshi a secret. She didn't want the whole world to find out. She didn't want the dark Moon winning over the earth. The earth held a close tie with her. It was only planet she knew that didn't question her people about the place they had come from originally. Jakten asked what happened to Rio. Rio said, "I have a foggy memory…I wish I could remember!"

He could see Rio's eyes. She had a great jolt to the system from an unknown source. He asked, "What were you doing before you lost your memory?"

Rio was quick in saying, "I was with Miss Roberts at the radio station!"

Jakten was quick with his reply, "And?"

"And…" Rio was going to give some passable explaining to her saturation. She said, "I remember the lights going out. I told Miss Roberts that was I going to find the maintenance man to see what could be done with the lights."

"Is that all you can remember?" Jakten asked as he kept up the young princess from the distance planet. He looked at her as through she was completely telling the truth. He knew something she was trying to hide from his present. He had a feeling he couldn't go any further with her.

"I think…" she said, glancing over what she could see. "…I would like to go home!"

Jakten had to give in. he knew Rio was closed mouth when she had experienced a very frightening turn of events. She didn't want to relive then again.

May was the quietest of all months (almost) for Keiichi Morisato. He was about to finish up his first quarter of college at Youngstown State. He was going to take a break with his studies and maybe pick up a job fixing up bikes and cars at a local tire place. He was going to try and get an early start on picking out which classes he wanted to be in for the next possible quarter.

There was a going to be a surprise for the Goddesses and Keiichi. Another goddess named Peorth wanted to see why Bell dandy and the others ended up in all places a small town called Salem in a state called Ohio. She had to figure why there was a great deal of energy spent on a little town with a five letter name which stood for peace.

The day seemed very normal like all the rest since Keiichi went to work. Bell dandy had been already up. She cooked, cleaned and listened for the weather report by the time Keiichi woke up. She heard her two sisters, coming down the stairs. Urd was not looking forward to having her day messed up by a bunch of kids who where waiting of the bell to ring. There was a large dose of spring fever going around. The kids in high school wanted nothing else to do with school. Skuld was just excited to see the end of the school year. Summer was just so close that she could smell the warm breeze. Skuld wanted to play with her robots. She wanted the year to end right now, but Bell dandy was very quiet in her opinions as she said, "You just have to be patient. There is so much to be waiting for!"

Keiichi got out of bed and change in a very lazy way. His first class didn't start until ten in the morning. He heard the noises of the high school bell in the far off distance when he was getting his backpack together. The morning sun light was a little hazy. There was talk about a chance of rain coming. He hoped that he wouldn't get caught in it. As he glanced at the small note board he had hanging from a wall near his bed, Keiichi winced. He had promised Belldandy that he would cut the grass. He had over slept and completely forgot the grass. Was there time to even to do? Keiichi checked his alarm clock on the night stand. His jaw dropped in a large gape. It was going on a quarter to nine. He had to move the time to the period after classes. Even worst, he had to hurry to make it for his first class.

As Keiichi finished dressing, he could hear the phone going off. It was probably was Skuld asking for her note book that she had forgotten at home. Belldandy had the day off from worked and Skuld's school was not that far.

The day was so normal; it was sickening to one other Goddess, Peorth. She had a thing for Bell's guy! She had to spice it up a bit. Peorth sat at her desk at the Goddess Relief Agency. She had to do something about this little crush that she had on Keiichi. Yet, it would be tons of fun if Belldandy had seen a spark or two between Peorth and Keiichi. This needed careful planning and thought placed in the right settings. Peorth had given herself at least until the afternoon to come up with the prefect plan.

After leaving a note for Bell, promising her that Keiichi would give the grass a cutting, he started on his daily commute to school. It seemed like a very dull and normal thing to do. Although, there was a catch to the day and things were beginning to fall apart. He checked his bike to see if there was enough gas to get him to school and back.

Before he had left, Keiichi felt a twinge in his stomach. He had eaten a quick breakfast and didn't need to have any more. Yet, he felt like something was wrong. He had to shove that feeling aside if he wanted to make it for classes.

In the distance was a young goddess floating above the tree tops. She had been watching the young biker as he pulled out of the drive. She had to think on where to spring the unknown surprise on him.

"There is a very pretty day for me today!" a voice sang sweetly in the air. It was followed by another voice. This voice was another on equal grounds.

The young goddess stifled a little as she heard the song. She thought, "Who is singing?"

"There is a song in the air for the day!" the voice sang loudly, but sweetly.

"I have been hoping to see you," another voice said coming from a person walking down the street, talking on their mobile phone.

The young goddess looked wildly all around to see if there was any sort sign of the person who was signing. She nearly fell from the sky as she spotted Belldandy singing with her Holy Bell standing behind her. The young goddess was Peorth. She was now trying not to be very noticeable to Belldandy. Bell dandy was helping the grass, trees and flowers grow around the house. Her gentle voice was filling the air with warmth. It was like spring was coming ever so gently. Peorth had to either leave or just stay out without causing a sense. She had to think fast before she was spotted by anyone walking along the sidewalk.

Taking a breath, Bell dandy finished her song. She scanned very quickly at her work. She knew that her job was finished for the day on the outside, yet there was tons of work on the inside. She told Holy Bell that she was finished. The angel nodded her approval before leaving Bell dandy.

Bell dandy noticed something slightly different about the outside. She wondered if there was going to be a change. She had thought about it later.

Then, she left.

Peorth let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to be a pain in the neck with Belldandy. She had nothing to be worried about until Keiichi came home.

Keiichi had been in the middle of everything that could befall on a man with three Goddess in his life. He had some extra ordinary things happen to him as he studied for his exams. It was like an unseen hand was helping him with his recall. Pulling into the parking lot, Keiichi caught sight of his watch. He was stunned to see he had made to class on time. He thought to himself, "Did urd have a hand in this…or was it Bell?"

He couldn't have time to wonder. His classes in math were going to start in five minutes. He ran through the halls until he had reached the class room where mechanical lecture was going to start. Keiichi opened the door to find the other students were still milling about or sitting talking. Very much relieved to see the class didn't start yet, Keiichi went to his usual seat in the middle of the room.

As he began to get his pens and paper out of his backpack, he felt like he needed to go home, he wanted to see what Belldandy was doing. She had to be O.K. Keiichi brushed the feeling aside. He was too close to finish on his latest quarter of classes that it felt extremely foolish if he ran home. He looked up to see his teacher entering the room. This was it. Time had to use for study. Keiichi had it call Belldandy later.

Belldandy was setting up the dinning room table for the evening meal. She had everything else nearly ready. She heard Skuld yelling at Reenie and Hotura about something. The clock radio from the kitchen had clicked on. Urd was already finishing up her assignments. The only one left was Keechi. His last class was a lab for his technicality draftsmen's class. He had been using the time to figure out a blue print his sister, Megumi had emailed during the early part of the month.

Belldandy had glanced at the radio clock on the kitchen table. "K…should be going home right about now!" she thought.

Belldandy heard a noise which sounded like a motor of sort pulling into the drive. She was a little excited about the noise. Knowing that Keiichi was pulling into the drive way, she made her way to the back door. She had to greet him before she started on supper.

When she got out seeing Keiichi, something stopped her in mid-step. Turning around to see what was making her halt in her tracks, Belldandy saw nothing. The feeling of dread was getting the best of her. She had to stop thinking of Keiichi getting hurt. She knew he was a man and could look after him. He was on his own for long time before they even met.

Belldandy started back up again on her way to greet Keiichi at the drive way. She was going to be happy to see him. On exiting one room and entering on the other, Belldandy knew Keiichi was safe. The feeling of him being safe on his trip home was a good sign to her.

Keiichi was tuning off the motor to his bike, he made sure of the motor cooling down before storing it away in the garage. Belldandy opened the back door and saw Keiichi just sitting there like a duck in the water. He was trying to unhook the chin strap to his helmet. He could hear her footsteps coming up towards him. He wondered if she was going to give him a hug or even a kiss on the cheek. As he turned to say her name with a smile, he was greatly surprised. It was Belldandy who was standing right in front of him. It was….

Peorth was standing next to the garage. She had been waiting for Keiichi since that morning. She hoped to see him when he got home from school. She had very sleekly disguised herself as Belldandy. Her wants and desires for Keiichi was greatly halted when she had found out Keiichi and the three goddesses were in a small town in vague state called Ohio.

Peorth smiled as she spoke in Belldandy's tone of voice, "What are you doing, K…"

"Uh?" Keiichi asked when noticed the fake Belldandy standing at the entrance to the garage. He thought very carefully to the situation. There was many times that Bell acted very normally and sweet. Yet, there was a feeling he couldn't place his finger on. What was the feeling? She was in fact a little too overly happy for his tastes.

"I am so glad to see you, home!" Peorth smiled, bowing slightly. Her hair fell to her left shoulder.

"Oh…you are?" Keiichi said, awry. He was going to have a long talk with Belldandy later. He had to get the grass mowed before starting on dinner. He had the time to do it in. he was going to be awry of Bell.

"Yes," she smiled. The way she looked was a strange. Yet, Keiichi didn't have time to be disagreeing over the way Belldandy looked.

"Gotta…start on the grass!" Keiichi said as he pointed with his thumb at the lawn mower in the back of the garage.

"O.K." Belldandy said as she nodded, "Can I watch?"

Playing it very cool, Keiichi eyed the fake Belldandy before agreeing to the idea. He said, "You know how boarding it can be. It's like me sweeping out the leaves at the temple!"

"Yea," Belldandy shrugged. "Yet, it looks so nice to see you do it. You look so…" Peorth as Belldandy came in for the kill as she began to move closer to him. Her eyes were so gently looking, she was weaving a spell around him her stare.

Keiichi felt the web of Peroth's spell turning around in his mind. He stared at her for a minute trying to realize what was about to happen. Just before he tried to put his foot down and demanded where the real Belldandy was, he heard Peroth's voice saying, "I want you to kiss me!"

The real Belldandy had been captured by Peroth's magic. She wasn't going to stand for it. She had been stopped in her tracks by a force field. She was going out the door when she noticed the back door was shut. The door knob when she had touched it gave her a very a large shock. She began to worry on how to get out. The feeling of knowing a systems breakdown was coming. She had to find Keiichi and fast.

Urd sat at the front porch steps in the front yard. She had been reading a large stack of papers. She was going to go in the house to get something to drink before putting her work away in her room. Standing up slowly, Urd glanced over her dress. As she was about to go in, Urd noticed the door wasn't move as she turned the door knob. Did someone lock her out? At first, she had to think about Skuld playing a ridiculous joke on her.

It was clear that Urd was going to use her powers to open the door. She had to be careful in order not to attract attention to her. She placed an opened palm on the knob. She murmured, "Give me the power to open this door right now!"

It was a minute during a small flash of lighting came from her hand. She had known it was going to work in theory! Yet, unseen forces were against her from the start. She felt her power surging back to her from the door knob. She jumped back as she yelped. "What in the heck…?" she muttered to herself.

There was a brief bit of laughter coming from the back. Instantly Urd's feelings had changed. Things were going to be out of hand if she didn't stop them. She gritted her teeth when she began hiss out loud her feelings. "What is that little brat doing?" she hissed.

Her fists were turning white and she had just enough of being made a fool by her little half kid sister. She had to knock some sense in to Skuld. She said in a loud tone of voice, "Skuld…what in the heck are you doing?"

There was no answer coming from the inside. The idea of being ignored was even a greater insult to her. She started to pound on the door. She screamed after a minute of pounding with no results in the door being opened, "SKULD…YOU LITTLE BRAT...OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!"

At the same time, Skuld was coming down the stairs. She had been finishing up her homework. She had been waiting for a phone call from Sasami. She wanted to know what Sasami was going to do the first day of summer vacation. She heard the noise of Urd pounding. She wondered who was outside. As she came to the door, she realized it was Urd pounding on the door. She ran down the stair case and to the front door. She was wondering why Urd was screaming like she was. On merely standing in front of the door, Skuld felt a jolt of power. She yelped back slightly in order to protect herself. Then, she moved back in a heart beat. There was something else trying to block off anyone else from getting out.

"What happened?" Urd asked when she heard the yelp coming from the other side of the door.

"There's a force field of sorts," Skuld said, warily. She tried to place a hand on the door. A small flicker of lighting ran close on her fingertips. "I don't know where it came from…yet, there is a really bad feeling from it!"

"Where?" Urd asked. On thinking this was a puzzling situation, she thought of Bell dandy and Keiichi. Where would those two be at?

"I wondered if it's Mara?" Skuld thought out loud.

"What?" Urd gasped loudly. She couldn't feel anything demonic active surrounding her. There was a time in the past that Mara wanted to attack Urd. Yet, Mara could have powered up enough to throw an undeniable cloak around her. She was very clever in her sneak attacks.

Skuld was a little peeved at her older sister. Her screamer, rolling up her hands in to fists, "MARA…IS PULLUNG A FAST ONE!"

"WHA?" Urd screeched. Her face was now being drained of all colour. She was stunned into a feeling of shock. "She is not here!" she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, the real Bell dandy was trying to figure what was going on Keiichi. She had being trapped in a wrap space. She had no idea how or who placed her there. She had to figure how to get out. She called out for her angel, Holy Bell to help her in the finding of a possible wrap hole. She sensed it be very close to where she was at. She scanned quickly as her feelings for Keiichi grew stronger.

Yet, Keiichi was now under Peroth's spell. It was like the time Urd had snagged Keiichi to make him break out of his shyness around girls. This was going to be a whole new twist to Keiichi's submissive personality. He was going to a puppet to Peroth one way or another.

The fake Belldandy had Keiichi in a corner. She was going to incase him a large spider's web of sorts on the ceiling. She was making things up as she went along. She had to be quick in her work or she would loose on Keiichi forever.

Keiichi's mind was racing. He tried to form words in his mouth in order to speak. He couldn't the connection from his mouth to his mind was halted in a very strange way. He knew about this event before. He tried to figure out why was Belldandy acting like she was.

"Now…that's done!" the fake Belldandy sighed, she had rung her hands in satisfaction. Her mind was thinking of a way to keep the real Belldandy were she was at. She was almost on the same power level with Belldandy. Having one optical out of her way, Peorth was going to have another one nearly wrapped up.

"That's not Bell!" Keiichi thought. His mind swam hard as he tried to move one his of arms in any way he could. "Yet, I think I know this person. She's a goddess none the less!"

"What else can I do to use up the extra time?" the fake Belldandy smiled. She turned to see what was going on. She was shocked to see a large power surge coming from the backdoor and yard. It seemed like things were responding to the real Belldandy's plea of help. The real Belldandy was training her powers on breaking through the force shield that Peorth had thrown up to block her way.

In the middle of the great power surge was the real Belldandy with her angel Holy bell standing behind her. The real Belldandy glared at her fake. She was very much angered at the person who was imprisoning her. She also worried for Keiichi's safety. She hoped he was still in the area.

The fake Belldandy gasped as she thought, "she's free and she's got reinforcements!"

The real Belldandy asked in a tone of voice that sent a shock wave to the fake Belldandy, "Where is Keiichi?"

Gasping for both thought and breath, the fake Belldandy couldn't even speak. She tried to think what she had done, but that was totally gone from her mind. She had to save herself from a goddess's wrath.

The real Belldandy asked for the second time where Keiichi was. This time, she was not fooling.

The fake Belldandy flew backwards in order not to get slammed by an energy blast from Holy Bell. The blast had smacked into the side of the fence. She could see how upset the real Belldandy was. She had to give in before anything else went into flames. "I want to see Keiichi!" the real Belldandy asked for a second time, gently pulling back when she noticed the power she was using had a few damaging effects.

"I didn't see him!" the fake Belldandy lied.

If things were not going from bad to worst, then there was a real hitch when Urd and Skuld had shown up. The real Belldandy noticed her sisters were there to help. She was happy to see her sisters.

"What's that?" Urd noticed to her dismay there were two Belldandy instead of one. She thought to herself, "What was going on here?"

All that Skuld was able to do was stand there and her jaw dropped in shock. "Uh?" she gasped. She had to do a double take as both Belldandy's stood in the drive way. There was a huge catch to the situation. Who was holy bell standing behind? The real Belldandy or was there a fake. The idea was very much mind boggling. "Sis…who are you?" Skuld managed to speak after a minute of staring at her sister.

Then, Keiichi seemed to break the spell of the monument when he somehow breaks the webbing through. He didn't realize until he saw a long screwdriver sitting on the work bench. He also pulled himself from the mind control of the fake Belldandy. With the two Belldandy fighting it out for the control of Keiichi, the fake Belldandy had no idea she was loosing ground when her mind was on other things. She started at the real Belldandy in the face. She said, "Keiichi is not here!"

What!" all three Goddess uttered in angered shcok.

Keiichi had grabbed for the screwdriver on the bench. It was a few weak attempts before on the third try he had finally got it. In his hand, he cut the webbing around his feet. He could hear Urd saying, "Is that all you have to say!"

Keiichi's mind tried to force his lips to move. He wanted to say that he was there. He was still there, yet he was in the garage. He had to do something to get at least Belldandy's attention. In the distance was a pop can. It was empty from the last time skuld was in the garage. She was working on a motor for a toy car. Chibi-chibi had received a toy car for her baby doll. It was not working right. Skuld wanted to fix it up for her. She had left the tool behind after the young goddess had fixed the toy.

Keiichi tried his hardest to stretch out his hand to reach the tool.

"What else?" Urd snapped. Feeling things were not going all to be accepted in this unsuial situation, she had to come up with a solution.

Then, the webbing gave way to a falling Keiichi. The webbing seemed to be strung up in a very haphazard way. Peorth was in a hurry to get Keiichi in her clutches that she had missed one very vital detail. It was the strength of the webbing. She had forgotten how much Keiichi had weighted. She knew that Keiichi was a strong man in some ways. Others he appeared to be as normal as the next guy on the street. Also Peorth was becoming a little forgetful as time went on. She was holding down the fort back in heaven. She didn't want to get in trouble with the others by goofing off and stealing Belldandy's guy. Although she did like the idea of taking someone else's guy.

There was a loud crash which brought all four Goddesses to the opened doorway of the garage. Keechi was now laying on his right side with his feet huddled in a mess on the floor. He had gone and freed himself from the webbing. He felt the pain of the landing. He didn't like outcome of the fall. He was hoping for more of a graceful landing on his feet than being on his side. In a semi-conscience state, Keiichi said, "I haven't done that!"

Both Belldandy's came running into the garage. Urd and Skuld just stood there and watching as Peorth's disguise was instantly seen. Urd gasped loudly, "Peorth…what in the world are you doing here?"

"Uh?" the fake Belldandy said as she was changing over to back to Peorth.

"What?" Skuld asked as she noticed the way the shadows of light cast a different hue on the fake Belldandy's hair.

"You little weasel!" Urd growled. She was about to level the fake Belldandy's to the ground.

"What did you do to Keiichi?" the real Belldandy's cried out. She was going to hurt the fake Belldandy. It was against her gentle nature to hurt anyone. This was a day of her ire coming to the forefront. The gentle Bell dandy was going to hold her ground. She had been taken for a fool by Peorth once too many times. Although, she had to remain cool and level headed, Belldandy was about to blow up. She knew all the rules of being a goddess first class.

"I'm fine!" Keiichi said in his way of trying to keep everyone from blowing up at each other.

"Are you sure…Keiichi?" Urd asked. She noticed the bruised Keiichi had when he had landed on his side.

"Yea," he nodded. He had been through dozens of events that would leave another man broken in more ways than one.

Belldandy had to figure on who was the real one and who was posing as her. She asked, "Peorth…is that you?"

Peroth tried think of a way out for her. She didn't want to really start world war three between herself and Belldandy. She had to consider Bell dandy as a pest and a little sister at times when they were in the Goddess relief project. Yet, Peroth always managed to herself in to trouble

"Come on…you are Peroth! Aren't the goddess Peroth?" Belldandy asked with a curiosity look in her eyes.

"You have to know who I am?" the fake Belldandy said as she changed forms into Peroth.

The three other goddesses glanced at each other before turning their attentions back to now reformed Peorth. Keiichi was blinking for a second. Then, he tried to sit up by rolling to his back. Slowly he scooted around until he pushed himself up partly off the ground. He sat there, blinking at the now beleaguered goddess. He was to ask how Peroth ended up back on earth. Yet, his mouth never could future out how to make the words fit.

Urd was upset with Peorth. She glared at Peroth and snapped, "Why are you here, Peroth?"

Feeling not only hurt, but insulted as well, Peorth huffed before turning her face away from the white haired questioner. Then, she huffed in a snooty tone, "I'm going not to…"

Feeling the words were a double insult, Urd growled "why you!"

Then, she had her hands outstretched towards the intruder. She bottled towards Peorth. Peorth knew she was in for it when Urd was angry. She had to either leave now or face the outcome of Urd's wrath.

"Urd…what are you doing?" Belldandy asked as she tried to stop her sister from beating up a guest.

"This!" Urd growled as she raised her arms over her head. A large ball of lighting began to crackle into life between Urd's two hands. She was bringing forth a huge jolt of power to prove her point across.

Panicking, Belldandy yelled in a frightened tone of voice, "URD…DON'T DO IT!"

Skuld didn't want the impact of the attack to back fire in a horrible outcome if it did. She wanted to stop everything before it happened. She knew Peorth was in deep danger when Urd was at her worst. She yelled on top of her lungs, "ARE YOU AN IDOT!"

"Come on…you fool!" Peorth smirked. She was holding her own powers back. She was going to counter attack a few seconds before Urd unleashed hers.

In a heart beat the normal day was rocked for a spilt second. Seiya who was weeding with Rae and Mina who stopped over to help out at his house looked up and remarked with a surprise, "It's going to rain?"

There appeared to be no black clouds anywhere. Yet, it didn't mean lighting could pop up at anytime. Seiya remained causal as he went back to his digging.

At the goddess house, Urd and Peorth were covered in soot while a large poof of smoke began to clear away from the sense. Keiichi, Belldandy and Skuld stared opened mouthed. The picture of the two immortal creatures that were half fried looked like a scene from an old silent film. What was the most puzzling was how not to bring attention to themselves if someone else saw the smoke and decided to call up the police.

"What are you looking at?" Peorth gasped before coughing hard.

"You…" Urd hissed. Then, she in hailed too much smoke. She began to cough and wheeze at the same time. She was going to wipe the floor with this interloper. She didn't someone going around and tried to take over.

"Listen…" Belldandy pleaded. She didn't want anything to go wrong with the two opposing Goddesses. She had to let Peorth tell her story. It seemed logistic at the time. She knew Peorth loved to play pranks on her and the others. Yet, there was always a disaster effect on the outcome from the pranks. "…why don't we go inside and talk…there must be a solution to this problem!"

The word 'problem' struck the rawest of raw nerves. The tension was edging up to the foreground. There was no turning back from this little spat. Urd's nerves began to boil with rage. Her lips were tightening into a snarl and her eyes bugged out from their sockets. Yet, Belldandy quickly moved between the two with an embarrassed smile. She tried to calm the situation down.

Skuld heard Reenie and Hotaru calling her from the side walk. Skuld turned to look at the two. Then, she told them to wait. She wanted to know why they were there. When Skuld ran up to see the two, Reenie asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Skuld gasped, catching her breath. She placed a hand over her heart. She wanted to not to lie. "It's a friend of my sister's came over for a visit!"

"Oh?" Hotaru asked. She glanced at Reenie. "Really nothing too exciting either?"

"Yea…thank God for that!" Skuld breathed.

The two girls had to do a double take. Skuld had to think fast on her feet if she was going to a believable story.

The days of school seemed to be ending very quickly. There was much talk about things that were going to be done on the hot and lazy days of summer. Some of the group from Tokyo was going to be busy with things that had to do with entrance exams. Others were going to find things to do. Summer was going to be a long three months. The London group was going to split up and join the others if they wanted to. Yet, they were asking talk about going to the mall and taking off for the beach. It seemed all too normal for the world to be going about its daily routine, but people had to go to work and play like they were preprogrammed into their lives.

Rio and Washu were out for a walk down Lincoln Avenue. They were talking about Rio's job at the radio station. She had been having fun being an intern. She was learning things about the station; she hoped to use later for a possible certain on the air as a possible DJ. It was a warm night. Washu noticed that the streets lights were not on near where Nick and his family lived. Rio wasn't thinking about street lights. She felt an odd session. It was like the time where Rei had the same feeling about the basketball court a few weeks ago. She didn't want to let on to Washu things were going to get ugly very soon. She had to leave Washu off on the next corner with a very instant excuse.

Then, she heard noises coming from the back yard. She wondered what was unfolding in the back yard. She could see Alex and Vachon doing a few minor adjustments to Vachon's bike. It was dark, yet the two vampires had prefect vision even with extra lighting proved by two large shop lamps.

Rio walked down the road with Washu just a piece. The feeling inside of her wouldn't go away. She had to contact the others and soon. The darkness was a strong force. She had to be careful as she and Washu walked away from the two.

Washu looked at Rio who was now glancing back at the yard. She wondered what was wrong with Rio. She asked, "Is there anything on your mind…you want to talk about?"

Rio placed a hand upon to her left cheek. She said, "Yea…I have been hoping to ask someone about summer school!"

Washu wanted to laugh at first. Was Rio the very first to celebrate with Serena and Royoko about school finishing up? Then, Washu wonder if Rio got a phone call about attending summer school. Rio's uncle had a keen eye on their niece if a million mile distance was keeping them apart. "Is your uncle Anthony cracking the whip?" Washu teased. She stared with all knowing glance at Rio. Then, she said, "Or could it be your Uncle Ziegfeld?"

"No..." Rio shook her head. She wondered if this little lie was going to snowball right in front of her.

"Then, what…" Washu asked before she was cut off. Then, the two girls heard the noise of thunder. Rain wasn't supposed to be in the forecast. Yet, a sudden burst of heat rain could be popping up anywhere. Washu looked at Rio and said, "Was there a call for rain!"

"I'm not sure!" Rio shook her head for a second time. There was many times lately the sound of thunder could be heard. What was going on with the weather in northeastern Ohio?

"Let's get going…" Washu began to say. Then, she heard mobile phone go off. Washu was now dissected. She didn't realize Rio was going to do one of her famous disappearing acts. She fished out her phone from her shirt pocket, telling Rio it would be only a minute to see what was going on with the others back home.

"Good!" Rio thought. "You just keep on your ears on the phone. I'll just pop out of your sight for just a minute myself!"

"What's it now…Ryoko!" Washu said as she flipped opened the phone. She had checked the number on the phone outer casing.

"There is a problem with the computer!" Ryoko winced. She was trying to hide the fact she and Ayeka were in Washu's lab. They were just trying to figure out on how to unlock the computer and the time coordinator to the main frame.

Washu was not amused by the way Ryoko was on her best way of pinning everything on Ayeka.

"Just keep on going…please ignore me!" Rio thought as she carefully walked away from the universe's brilliant mind. She watched as Washu turned her back towards Rio. Rio nearly ran head long into an embankment. She didn't realize there was a long row of large stones that covered the end of the yard. She heard the thunder as she tried to walk away from the stone covered embankment.

The sound of thunder was not by any means normal. There was a dark ring in the tone of this frightening warning. Rio had to be on her guard. This was going tube a long night for her. She noticed as she came closer to the entrance way of the driveway, a large dark blue circlet just above the tree tops. It was hovering when it came in view from the moonlight. She had to control her feelings for the time being. She didn't want to make any sort of sudden movements. The feeling of darkness was very palatable. The Dark Moon kingdoms were on the move. She had to call in the others for help. She pressed herself against a small column of rock. Her palms were sweaty and heart was hammering hard in her chest. Why did she feel like this? She was a very brave Sailor Senshi, hand picked by Queen Serenity herself. "Get a hold of yourself, Rio…you have been alone like this dozens of times!" she thought to herself.

She heard a faint whoosh of air coming from the east. It was Nick coming back from the officer that he shared with Tracy on Second Street. He looked preoccupied to even stop and greet the other two. Rio hoped that she was discovered by Nick. She knew Nick was also a vampire. She didn't tell anyone his secret. She had grown up with Alex for years. It wasn't until she was at least ten when she found out. At first it frightened her. Yet, she grew to trust him as a friend. Rio held her breath she watched Nick walked over from the spot he landed near the driveway to the back. Was there a way of not being discovered by Nick, Alex or Vachon? She had to think of a way and quickly. The night was growing hotter buy the minute.

"If you need to put this part in there…" Vachon soughed, rolling his eyes as he placed a tool back in a tool box. "Why did you say so?"

"No, it's that…it's this part looks cracked!" Alex said as he pulled out something that looked like a tube of sorts.

Nick smirked at Vachon's dilemma! He knew Vashon was a wild child who was really rough around the edges. He wasn't going to let Vachon off the hook that easily. "You drive like a maniac!" he grinned.

"Shut up!" Vachon grumbled at the older vampire. He bent his head down to see what he could salvage.

"Whoa!" Alex breathed with a fake glance. He knew Vachon had a boiling point. He wasn't going to stick around if the Spanish vampire went off by mishap. Playing it cool was a best solution to this problem.

"I'll fix it my way!" Vachon said. He reached over to his tool kit. Blindly he had tried to fish out a large spanner. He knew it was there. He couldn't stop what he was doing at the time. There were a couple of cases that Tracy was working on and Vachon wanted to help out. There was a sound of thunder coming from the north. He knew he and the other two had to get in before it rained. The storms were getting strong this time of the year. A few trees were knocked over by the storms. Yet they were at the other side of town. It didn't sit too well with Vachon when Tracy was still out on a case and alone. He asked Nick, "Where's Trace?"

"She's might be out on a case or with Nat!" Nick shrugged. Then, a heat source grabbed Nick's attention. He wondered as his eyes and ears began to peel off the darkness of the night. He could sense with the other two a living, breathing human. He called out, "Who's there?"

Rio remained quiet and still which wasn't going to be at her advantage. She knew about Alex's powers of sight and sound. He could find her in a large crowd without even blinking. He could nearly taste her scent in the wind. All humans had a scent in their blood. She thought, "Please go away…Alex. You, Nick and Vachon are in grave danger…I can feel it!"

Vachon didn't even glance up as he finally found the spanner. He said, "Aww! It's probably someone who is waiting for a ride."

"Are you sure?" Alex asked. He knew it was Rio. He knew Rio was always pulling practical jokes on him. He was going to be careful because he knew Rio was easily scared at times. He glanced at Nick. "I think I know who it is!"

Nick sensed Rio as well. He gave Alex a look of understanding the situation. "Yes…why she is here!"

"Maybe she is just out on a walk. She's nearly a grown woman!" Vachon shrugged. He knew Rio was a little more on the gusty side than the inners. She had some experiences that even the three lights or the outers did not have.

Rio could hear Alex saying, "You can't keep her down. She will find a way out of the predicament!"

"Great…I've been discovered!" Rio sighed loudly. She turned her face away to see if Washu was still standing where she left her.

There was no sign of the greatest scientist. Rio was now up a creek without a paddle. She wondered she would go up to see Alex bewared she could warn him about the on coming danger. She swallowed hard before staring up at the sky. "Oh…please…just let me a normal girl for once."

Then, she said loudly, "Gotta run!"

The other three stared at Rio's figure darting towards the corner a little opened mouthed. Nick gasped, "Teenagers!"

Somehow she went a little too far and over shot where she was supposed to be going. Yet, finding herself in someone else's back yard was a surprise. She could still see the hovering green cloud above the three in Nick's back yard. She hoped that she was not going be discovered by Nick or other two. She had to find her communicator and fast. The Dark Moon Kingdom was on the move. She looked at her fanny-pack to fish out the communicator.

She breathed hard as she pushed a button that called on all the Sailor Senshi. She said in a loud whisper, "Is there anyone out there?"

She waited for a minute or two before replying again, "Is there anyone out there?"

A minute of crackling noise before Rei's voice saying, "Rio…is that you?"

"Nearly jumping out of her skin from all the excitement, "You better believe it!"

Rei a little perturbed at Rio's sudden outburst asked, "What's going on? Why are you with Miss Washu?"

"She had to leave on the account of Tenchi or something!" Rio lied. She did not want to get Washu mixed up on Sailor Senshi problems. Under Rio's thinking, Washu was just a teacher and not a great genus.

"What are you doing alone…?" Rei's voice had a hint of concern in the tone. She wondered if Rio was just pulling a prank.

"Long story…you want the nut shell?" Rio blurted out. She started to feel very queasiest. The darkness was hanging over her like a huge hammer.

"Yea…" Rei gasped. She didn't want to be put in suspense any longer. She was growing annoyed with Rio. Was Rei getting tired of being a sailor Senshi like Serena? Yet here was something there to be had.

Then, a crackle of lighting hit a raw never with Rio's mind. The lighting was too close by for her comfort. On looking up at the clouds near Nick's house, Rio said, "Come here quickly…the Dark moon kingdom is on the move!"

"What?" Rei gasped. She had a feeling of evil in the air. Now with Rio's statement being the final evidence of Galaxia's master stroke for now, Rei had to get the others. She looked up at Mina and Lita. She said, "Where are the outers and Serena!"

"I'll try to get them!" Rei said. She had a shocking feeling of dread when she had seen with her own mind what Rio finally foresaw.

After she had transformed into Sailor arcadia, Rio went back to the area, but she hid in the bushes which divided the house from the other yard. Her heart was pounding so hard, she had a hard time in breathing. This was her first time alone with no one to help her fight. She prayed hard, "Dear God…this is a real test. The Dark Moon…no Galaxia is drawn up the stakes on this one!"

Everything was too quiet. She wondered if she could go up and find out what was going on with Nick, Vachon and Alex. She could see what was happening because the house was in the way. She didn't want to cause a seine either. She would look odd if Alex should who she was in her sailor's fuku.

Then, the lighting cloud grew. Sailor Acarida's heart nearly stopped as the wind started to pick up a little bit more. She could hear as best as she could the noises coming from the other side of the house. She took deep breaths. Then, she darted to the other end of the house. On hoping no one spotted her when she ran past the front windows.

Them, she hunkered down near a bush on the drive way. She could sense the evil in the air growing thicker. Then, she heard a dreadful sound. It was like nothing that she had heard before. What was going on with Nick and the other two, she thought, "Come on…you got to be making your first move Rio!"

Finally she heard a scream. Was it Nick or Vachon who screamed? She knew Alex's scream. He had lived in London for a long time. She wondered for only a second if the dreadful noise was prince Diamond or even Professor Tomeo using their powers on Nick or Vachon. She pushed herself around the brush enough that she could see what was going on. She could see Prince Diamond standing off to the side. "Why was he here?" she wondered in her mind.

Her foot brushed against a twig in the dark. A slight snap was just enough noise to distract Prince Diamond. His eyes glanced towards the direction of the noise. He wondered who was there. He turned back to the start of his work. He had trapped both Alex and Vachon in a large net of sharp thorns. He was going to make short work on them. Yet, Nick was going to need a little more work on his transformation. He wanted to be human. Nick's feet were trapped in a large trap of quick sand. He had ensnared Nick in an easy to make trap. Nick tried to struggle out of the trap. He didn't want to be trapped and he knew Vachon or Alex didn't want to be in danger either.

Just as Prince Diamond was about to go and see the noise, Nick stopped him and asked, "What are you going to do with us?"

Prince Diamond cocked his head to one side and smirked. He said, "I hope to get rid of some pests and turn the whole entire universe over to the dark side!"

Vachon glanced over to Alex. His eyes were met with the same surprised stare of disbelief. Was this white hair guy had totally lost it? Yet, Vachon wasn't going to argue with someone holding him at bay with razor sharp thorns.

Alex was in the same state as Vachon. He wondered if Prince Diamond was an elder like Laquiox or even his father, Armand. He had heard about vampires that could control plants like animals with a simple mind trick. Yet, he had thought it was a strange story that was passed down throughout the ages.

Sailor Acadia heard a familiar sound of a cat running up towards her. She turned her head to see if it was Luna or Artmies or even Diana coming towards her. She saw the small little white cat zooming up. He stopped alongside her and huffed, "What's the situation?"

"Very bad…I think!" Sailor Acrid whispered loudly. She could only see now Alex and Vachon.

"Do you know what is going on?" the little white cat asked with his ears perked for any sort of noise.

"No…" sailor Acardia said shaking her head. She knew that somehow she and the other sailor senshi had to get Prince Diamond from his standing point. If he was distracted, then the others could help out, Alex, Vachon and Nick.

"What if I took a quick look," Artmeries sod.

Sailor Acardia wanted to stop Artimies from, rushing all of his nine lives. She gaped, "What…have you gone crackers?"

Them, she tried to pick him up, yet his tiny lithe body was no match for her hands. He wiggled out of her gasp before pressing himself aging the outside wall. He craned his neck to see what was going on. He could see a little of Vachon, but not the other three. Then, all heard a slight change in the wind. There was a scent of roses in the air. Out of instinct, Airtimes looked up at the trees above. The large cloud that hung over the garage was starting to loss its grip. The outside edges where changing. Then, a voice called out, "Pluto Deadly Scream!"

Sailor Acarida's heart nearly skipped a beat when she heard Sailor Pluto's voice calling out the power of her planet. She turned around to see now Sailor moon, chili-moon and mars running up towards her. She whispered loudly, "I'm glad to see you lot!"

When Sailor Moon noticed the situation, she knew that Sailor Mars's vision was on the mark. She did not realize how bad the situation was really. Sailor Acardia retold a short outline of the story. Then, she said, "I have a really bad feeling for this job!"

"Why?" Sailor Moon asked as she glanced at Sailor Acardia.

"I don't want to have a repeat like the last time…" Sailor Acardia gasped. She wanted to give sailor moon a good talking to. She didn't feel like explaining herself again. Time was slowly dripping away from them.

"What else is going on?" Luna asked.

Then, the sailors froze. There was a noise that made their blood turn to ice. "What is this?" a voice asked in a cold sneer.

The three young sailors eyes scanned slowly as they noticed a figure dressed in a white lab coat. It was Hotura's father, Doctor Tomeo. It seemed like things were getting into a mess.

Then, it happened, Sailor Venus's love chain whipped around the good doctor and pinned to the ground. She noticed the power coming from the dark clouds was not going to be helpful if Prince Diamond wanted to back down.

Sailor moon glanced around to see if Tuxedo Mask was around. He had to be there for her. Luna noticed something was changing Sailor Acardia's power. Was this newer Sailor Scout receiving a new power? Luna had to keep her eyes on Rio. She was glowing a rich pink light. Was there something different going on with her. Luna asked, "Are you getting a new power?"

"I think I am…" Sailor Acadia looked down at her hands. The pink, rosy color was strangely warm. She felt like hands of unseen force were pulling at her forcing her to stand up. Then, backing away from the area a little…Sailor Acadia felt the power pricking, nearly tearing at her body. She had nearly halted her breathing. It was a trick that she had forced herself into doing when she was learning something new about her powers. She had to give into the will of this new force taking hold of her.

"What is happening to you, Rio?" Sailor Moon thought to herself.

"I feel everything bubbling up inside. It's….like nothing I have felt before!" Sailor Acadia gasped loudly. She closed her eyes to block out everything.

It was very bad timing for Laquiox to show up like he did. He had a quick show to finish up. The station that he had been working with was going under a new station change with the different watts system. He was told that the station was switching over around eleven in the evening. He was very begrudging to give up that sweet little spot in the late night wars even in radio. He did have a funny feeling about coming back. He knew that Nick could take care of himself for years. With the feeling of complete trust, Laquiox was going to stop at Devon's house just for a minute. Then, he would go back home and spend the rest of the night, catching up on his reading. He was in for a very horrible shock.

Sailor Acadia felt every fiber of her being snapped to attention. She had more power than she had ever before. She heard voice telling her in her heart and mind to say, "Dream Storm!"

Professor Tomeo did not even think of a weak sailor having a last trick on the deck. She was going to be pulling an energy blast that was going to send him packing. He hovered over the small group, leering. He knew that Sailor Moon had the most powerful star-seed ever. The others had star-seeds that were a little less in the power department. Yet, he was not going to pass them up. "Look…what I have here…four or five little sailors in a bunch."

There was a dead calm before Sailor Acadia power hit its peak.

"Time to pluck them all!" Professor Tomeo sneered with his eyes flashing in darkness. He reached over too make a grab for Sailor Acadia for his first attempt. He violently pushed back unto they ground by a huge bolt of power that even sailor moon had to braced herself from. Sailor Acadia felt herself being picked up by the force. She now stood up with her arms raised over her head. She yelled out, "DREAM…." She dropped her arms towards her chest. "…STORM!" to finish out the attack, Rio threw her arms in a pointing posing with hands in a praying action.

"What!" Professor Tomeo gasped loudly. He felt the power of Sailor Acadia's blow. He reeled back, hitting the ground.

Laquiox heard the noise. He wondered what was going on. He quickly dashed over to where the noise was. He was completely shocked to see what the special unfolding in front of him. He saw Nick being nearly torn to pieces by the thorny vines which had Nick in a tight hold. Then, he glanced over to see Vachon and Alex in the same spot. He became outraged. What was going on with these interlopers? Laquiox had never seen these strange looking men or these skimpy dressed girls with magical powers. He had to help Nick out of his predicament.

Sailor Acadia was standing with her arms to her sides. She looked like she had taken a jolt of power. She felt like she could do it again if she had to, yet she had be careful with the new power she was given. Professor Tomeo was thrown to the gourd. It was the first time he had been defeated that quickly in a long while. He felt the heat from the blast slamming into his body with such a force. He wondered if Galaxia knew about this new little sailor sensei.

"What was that?" Sailor Moon asked in wonder. She knew all sailors sensei were nearly their completion of their powers. Was Sailor Acadia different because she was the very last to have a power up grade.

"I'm not sure…something inside of me wanted to stop the evil in no other way," Sailor Acardia sighed loudly, feeling the weight of the power reforming inside of her heart. She wanted to clean out the evil from the world. Voices in her mind where starting to bubble and churn like some large vat of forgotten memoires. It thrilled her to death. It gave her a strong feeling of courage. It doomed to her to fear. She wanted to also to run and hide. Like not Serena and her little girl out bursts. This was a piece of her darkened past that was blotted out and now was surfacing like bullet holes in the mind. She had to stay calm. She said, "Look out!"

She had feeling that a large burst of energy was coming from Prince Diamond. All the Sailor Sensei scattered like ninepins. Prince Diamond was going to bring the Sailors to their knees. Yet, how was he going to do it. He knew that he could take over Sailor moon with the power of his third eye. Yet, she was not the same person as before. She had grown up quite fast with everything that had happened when she had first met up with the silver haired prince of the dark moon kingdom. The same trick was not going to be use. It was going to be given a slight twist. There was a deep connection between reenie and Serena after Reenie found her first loves. There was a slight and quick encountered with Perle, the dream fairy. She never the first taste of a crush like that before. Then, there was Pegus. He had helped not only Reenie to have her first taste of adulthood and a chance to see what it was to be lady in a different light. He had forced her to grow into a more thoughtful child. When he was Helios, Reenie had to give up the idea of being a daddy's girl. He was teaching her what a boyfriend, girlfriend relationship.

"What are you going to do…" Prince Diamond laughs darkly as he heard the noise of the thunder growing fierce "Little rabbit!"

He had quickly teleported himself right in front of Sailor Chibi-moon and Sailor Saturn. The old feeling of entrapment hit Sailor Chibi-moon hard. She tried to move, yet she felt the same power net covering her. She was still a sweet and innocent child. The old feeling from Wicked lady was nearly non-living. She was still a bad memory which Sailor Chibi-moon tried to block out every day. "Little rabbit…come to me!" he purred loudly.

Sailor Chibi-moon froze on her foot steeps. She wanted to move, but could not bat an eyelash.

"What's wrong?" he sneered with a dark, kind look on his face. His eyes glowed with a brutish stare of someone who wanted to hurt her.

"No…this can't be happening to me!" Sailor Chibi-moon thought to herself. Her heart pounded hard in her chest. She tried to swallow hard. Yet his bitter taste of salt in her mouth burned going down. Her life was going to take a large leap of fear if she was going to cave in.

"What a pretty young rabbit you have been growing into!" Prince Diamond smiled, holding out his hand.

"Get lost you creep!" she snapped back with fiery tone of voice. She had to be strong for herself. She quickly remembered what had happed to her. The awful pain of those fake stories of her mother and father who she loved more than anything else were like knives splitting her open like a grape. She knew she and Serena had differences, yet in the long run they did love each other in the presence.

"What?" Prince Diamond snapped back. He felt outraged at the answer he got when he crossed the lien with Renee's feelings. His fake charm was easily broken into pieces when Reenie dug in her heels with her feelings.

"You heard me…I don't want to see you again!" Sailor Chibi-moon growled with her firsts rolled up to her sides. She remembered the bitter feeling that was placed inside of her when she hooked up with the white harried prince. She had to force herself to grow up in a different light. She felt utterly lonely until she had found Hotura. She did have the other sailor senhsi as her friends. Yet, she wanted a best friend. Now she was being pulled down to the depth of her nightmare world.

"Yes…" Prince Diamond smiled with a voice filled of hate. He wanted to take back what was rightfully his. The power of the crystal was too great and he had just a taste of it once before. He had to have more. "You are so once to others when you seen them. Yet, you want me to leave? Why?"

"You took me for a fool. I am not that way anymore!" Sailor Chibi-moon huffed; her heart was beating so fast it ached.

"I can see that. You have grown. You need to change!" Prince diamond said as he lugged at her with his third eye opening up. His powers were now at their perk.

Sailor moon wanted to protect Sailor chibi-moon as best as she knew how. She screamed, "REENIE…LOOK OUT!"

Sailor Chibi-moon felt an unseen force snatch her and Sailor Saturn up like they were just twigs. She glanced up at someone. It was Sailor Uranus. No…this was a stronger force. Her eyes froze at the stranger who had her. At first she hoped for Tuxedo Mask to come and save her. Yet, this was someone completely different. This was Laquiox. He had a very terrible feeling that he was going to lose Nick to Prince Diamond if he, himself didn't step in and stop this madness.

They were now standing at the other side of the drive way. At first, Sailor Chibi-moon gasped at the elder vampire who was going to go back for Nick. She said, "Wait!"

Sailor Saturn was equally puzzled at outcome said, "This is getting very weird!"

The power that Sailor Acardia had was new and great. It was like she had unleashed a storm onto evil itself. The power of the life force inside of her was great. This was her first upgrade in a couple of years. She didn't want to let anyone get hurt in the fighting, yet the Black moon kingdoms had to be destroyed once and for all!

She began to recharge her life force from her power source. She also felt a light and warm surge coming from her necklace. She glanced down for a second to see her necklace change into a double light ball. Then, the light ball broke off and flew up to her ears. Each ear felt a new power ball change shape to form an earring that was a twin of her medallion.

"What is this?" Prince Diamond gasped as he watched the young mystical sailor senshi.

"It's a power upgrade!" Luna said as she looked at Sailor Acardia.

"Now…you are dealing with a new sort of power!" Sailor Acarida ordered in a clear voice. She had a new power that she had to learn how to control.

"Sailor Moon…you have to tell you little friend to stop and we need you to end this little idea of peace, now!" Prince Diamond said as he was taken aback with this new turn of events.

"Northing doing!" Sailor Moon warned. She had enough of this darkness. She had to break free the darkness to save lives. She said, "I'm going to cleanse one and for all!"

She held out her Entiral Tiare.

The darkness of Prince Diamond had a last trump card. He threw out his arms which caused a wind to knock out Sailor Moon's Entiral Tiare. He knew she was going to drop it. With that out of the way, he was going to attack with a sneak attack. He had to have a puppet to carry out his wishes. Glancing at Nick, prince Diamond snapped his fingers. Nick having a very strong will had been broken after nearly eight hundred years of being a slave to Laquiox. This was a truly unstopped force. He felt all of his will suddenly fall from his mind.

Laquiox had also felt the world in his mind shift so violently that he wanted to be sick with fear. This was no normal fear. Even not the fear that he had felt when Nick was posited by a demon a few years ago had the same impact. This darkness had a bite to this little snag of Nick's soul. "What have you do to him?" Laquiox asked with a cold stare of disbelief at Prince Diamond.

Prince Diamond was first surprised at this so called human asking a question that needed to be explained in short order. Yet, he gave it a second of thought. Then, he glared at Nick. This was a stroke of brilliance on his part. No, could control Nick after the many years of what he was. A vampire was usually the one to put the mind control on someone else, not the other way around. "He will make a good addition to the many who wall follow us to the path of glory…Our lady ask for very dear lady!" Prince diamond grinned darkly.

"Our Lady!" Sailor moon gasped angered. She knew that she had cleansed Galaxia. The end was the end and she could go back to being a normal teenager. Yet, fate at the last laugh in this cruel joke called life. She knew Galaxia had turned back to evil and was lying extremely low until the timing was right for her capture of the purest Star seed. Serena just happened to be the owner of that star-seed.

The skies turned fiery red before Prince Diamond threw a curl ball at Sailor moon. He said, "Come with me…Queen. Then, I can give the rest of the world on a silver platter."

Laquiox was now standing in the shadows of the house. His eyes were glowing a dark green. He knew Nick, Alex and Vachon were in for it. The change of him taking Nick back was slim. He did not want to attempt fate if he was going to get snared nick in the large thorn bush.

"Nothing doing…" Sailor Jupiter howled with anger. She gave the air a very anger swipe. She and the others were not going to back down for any one.

"Why?" sailor mars cried out in hot sadness. She knew things were being pushed into the hopeless end of the fight.

"You need to be put down and crushed one and for all!" Prince Diamond snared.

"DREAM STORM!" Sailor Acarida shouted once again. This time she was going to be helped by Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars.

Sailor Jupiter shouted, "SERPIME THUNDER CRASH!"

A blast of lighting was surrounded by a bolt of rose colored light. Then, Sailor Mars shouted, "FLAME SNIPER!"

The bolt of lightning and light was now surrounded by a flaming arrow.

Sailor Venus stared at her friend sailor mercury and said, "They need is a power boast!"

"All right!" Sailor moon nodded. She raised her right hand up to her tiara. She watched as Venus used her Love chain whip.

It seemed like the others were following their example as well. The outers used their powers in a three way split towards the power source. Then, the Sailor Starlights used their powers in order to save Sailor Saturn and Chibi-moon.

"What are you doing to do?" Sailor moon asked her. She knew that everyone was doing their bit to help out. She was going to see if she could cleanse Prince Diamond for one last goes at being good. "Moon Tiara…Elimtation!" she cried out.

She pulled off of her forehead. It changed into a glowing disk of light. Her powers were peaking to the edge. Then, she sprung around as the disk became brighter and more powerful. Finally she stopped spinning to face Prince Diamond. Prince Diamond could see it coming and prepared himself for the attack. He waved his face to throw wind at Sailor moon. He glowed, "NO way!"

Sailor moon felt the ground leaving her feet. She fell quickly with her right hand still clutch the disk. She was blown down in a heartbeat. What was her defiance for now? She had to stop Prince Diamond somehow. "I am not giving up that easily!" she thought to herself. Her heart pounded in her head from the pain. The wind was not letting up and neither was she.

"What's a matter…sailor girl!" the white haired prince asked with an innocent tone of voice. He was about to raise his hand when he felt a large struck it. He spun around to see who threw the rock. "What…the?" he hissed.

"No more…" Sailor Venus said as she had to stop him from hurting Sailor moon. She had thrown the rock.

"No…and I mean that!" He snapped before he slightly ground his teeth together

"It's all right, Venus!" sailor moon said as she tried to get back up. She breathed slowly. "I am just little winded…that's all!" she said, trying to sound tough, although she sounded very lame.

"You just don't get it…do you Neo-queen!" Prince Diamond shook his head. He felt a slight sting of blood oozing out from the scrape. He was now furious. In his anger, he let out an unfelt, unseen order for Nick to bare his fangs to show how powerful the Dark moon was really.

The Sailors were terrified at the outcome. There was no getting around a vampire who was under the mind control of the dark moon. Yet, this was just a warning. In a heartbeat, the white haired, his soldiers, Nick, Alex and Vachon disappeared in a clap of lighting. Prince Diamond had to pull back in order to show what the sailors were now up agasint. Laquiox was stunned into quiet anger at the loss of his son, Nick once more.


	3. Chapter 3

June

"On this June day the buds in my garden are almost as enchanting as the open flowers. Things in bud bring, in the heat of a June noontide, the recollection of the loveliest days of the year - those days of May when all is suggested, nothing yet fulfilled." - Francis King

It seemed so harsh to waking up to the daylight after the night when the world was tipped a little into the darkness. Serena was the first to admit that things were going from bad to worse for the most part. Yet, the first few days of having no school to go to was a little bit of relief. The daily retinues the rest of the group went without a hitch. Rio couldn't get her head around the idea of her new powers. Why was she the last one to get an upgrade in the powers?

Rio was finishing up the last leg of her paper route. She felt the whole world was building up walls of hate against her and the others. Why pick on her. She knew that she did right by the standards that her family had placed on her years earlier. She grew up in a loving, but distinct house. There was nothing she could put her finger on it. She wanted to hit playback and start all over again.

Renee tried to sleep in her bed. She, Hotura and Chibi-chibi had shared a room since coming to American just a few months ago. She had trying to adjust as best as she could. She had grown into a young lady with some help. There was still a lot of work ahead of her. Yet, the fight at Nickolas's house nearly pulled everything back. She wanted to grow up quickly after she felt the old feelings of wicked lady began to break through. The night mares were just the tip of the hill before she found herself questioning Serena's idea of just being a young kid who loved her mummy and daddy.

Hotura who was already up sat in the window sill looking out on to the outside world. There was really nothing to get hung up about whit the birds or flowers for now. She knew that Serena was trying to keep Reenie safe. She prayed that Micharu and the other outers were going to do the same. The old wounds of the past were starting to break apart.

Reenie awoke with a start. She sat up in bed, looking around with a white face. She felt cold in the mid-morning air. She wondered if everything was o.k. into the house. Hotura who had been dressed and ready for the day, turned to look at her friend.

Hotura asked with a small smile, "Mornin' Reenie!"

Reenie nearly jumped out of her skin said, "Hi… there, Hotura!"

Hotura asked, "what's wrong...you look like you have seen a ghost!'

"No…" Reenie gasped with a fake smile on her lips. She knew that her best friend was getting under her fears. She knew that she had to get her to talk about her fear. Yet, what was it all about. "What makes you say that?"

Hotura pucker her lips a little. Then, she said, "I was just a little curious. You must have had one bad dream!"

Hotura's smile was soothing. She was going to be a good nurse when she got the chance. Her dream of being a nurse at all had to be put on hold until she got through middle school. She wondered if it was all possible to get her learning done quickly.

"Hey…Re…enie?" Serena's voice could be heard all over the house. She was so close to Reenie's bedroom, that Reenie nearly did a second jump.

"What is it, meatball head?" Reenie gripped loudly.

"Are you up…you better get your butt of out bed!" Serena ordered.

Hotura watched as her best friend's face was turning a nice shade of red. She couldn't hope but over hear the yelling match between Reenie and Serena. She excused herself as she got off the window silk. She knew that friends shouldn't be in the middle of family yelling matches. It just made things harder. She said, "I got to have some breakfast…I'll see you!"

For a minute, Reenie was curious. She asked, "What…why?"

"Serena is being a painful sore!" she huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Why does she have to do it?"

There was a hint of a smile on Hotura's lips. She knew that Reenie had to smile at the statement. Life had to go on for to last this season out. Reenie watched as Hotura walked towards the door. Then, she turned to say, "don't let her get your down…O.k.?"

"Yea…"Reenie forced a smile on her lips. She wanted to reassure her best friend that things were going to get better somehow.

Hotura opened the door to see Serena standing in the hallway. She said, "And you better be notice to her."

Serena was a little puzzled at Hotura's statement. She sighed as if she heard every word between Hotura and Reenie. "Yes…I'll try."

It sounded simple at first. Yet, Serena and Reenie were cut from the same cloth. It was a war of nerves at times with the two. It was same between Rei and Serena as well. She excused herself as she pushed herself past Serena. Then, she heard Mina and Lita talking about a boy who was running up past their house. She wondered if she was going to be the way of all giggling high school girls were in a few years. She shrugged and walked down the hall.

"Reenie?" Serena asked, voice sounded weary. She looked up at the young girl who looked like herself when she was that age. She wondered going to happen to Reenie. Sometimes, Reenie and Serena had acted like a real mother and daughter. Other times, Serena would say or do anything that had a nerving effect on Reenie. It had a wedge driving way between the two.

"Yea?" Reenie said as she pushed the covers off. She had started to climb down the top bunk to the lower one. She did not want to say anything before she gave Serena a chance to speak. After a couple of minutes of climbing down, Reenie asked, "What's on your mind?"

Serena a little surprised said with a calm face, "I just wanted to know…are you O.K.?"

Reenie was now taken aback. She knew Serena was a little on the nosy side, yet she did care about Reenie. Slowly Reenie nodded, trying to remember the last time she and the other Senshi fought. It was the first time for everyone who was involved. The hardest hit was Nattile. Laquiox had a feeling that the Sailors were good people to begin with. It was the outcome which had a bitter taste in his mind. He didn't want to blame the lost on the sailors. They were fighting a rough bunch of old enemies who became stronger. Reenie remembered the promise Serena had given to Nat and Laquiox. They will find Nick and the others in safety.

"Yea…I'm fine!" Reenie forced a smile on her lips. She walked over to the closet that she and the other two shared. She had opened it to look for something to wear. She turned to face Serena, "Why…wouldn't I be!"

"I thought you were still shook up from Prince Diamond," Serena surged her shoulders. Her eyes had so much to tell. Yet, her mind was not there on the same page as her mind. "That's all!"

Reenie felt like snapping back at Serena. There was a slight taste of fear still clinging to her. She could understand what Serena was trying to speak of. She never wanted to come too close with evil. She had a very horrible experience with the Black moon Family. It took months of talking to the other sailors to finally come to the realization that both Serena and Darien loved Reenie more than anything else in the world. She noticed a blue and white short set that she had gotten in the mail from Serena's mum and dad. It was neatly folded up, neatly sitting on a set of wire shelves. Reaching over to grab it off the top, Reenie said, "Thanks. I'll be O.K."

Pushing the issue was not in Serena's plans for the day. She was going to let Reenie alone. Serena was just looking after Reenie as best as she could. She knew all about her future. She and Darien would get married. Then, down the road Reenie would be born. She had to be careful right now. She remembered what Pluto had said to her when she had first met up with mysterious Time Senshi. "What will in the present will have either good or bad outcomes."

Reenie was now looking for a pair of socks. She opened up the first drawer of the mini-chest-drawers that was off to the side of the closet. She knew that the fighting was going to be over just yet.

"Come on Tenchi…we are going to be late for breakfast!" Ryoko sighed, rolling her eyes. She and Ryo-ki-oh stood on the staircase waiting for Tenchi and Ayeka to show up. It was still too early yet for another big to happen. There was something inside Ryoko which bubbled slowly inside.

Ten chi's voice called back from his room, "I'll be down in a minute!"

"O.K." Ryoko said as she stood at the bottom of the staircase. She yawned and stretched as she tried to get the sleep out of her bed. She had a late night of watching TV with Keyone. They were caught up in an old movie on cable. It was such a good story which made it hard to pass up.

"Ayeka are you coming?" Ryoko asked as she noticed the older sister of Sasami walking down the steps.

"In a minute. There is something I need to do!" Ayeka sighed as she opened her door. She looked at her reflection of herself in the mirror. There was a large oval nailed to the wall in her bedroom. She wanted to push herself inside the mirror. There was a sudden questionable idea that just popped into her mind as if she was still a child. Placing a hand up the cold glass, Ayeka pressed hard to find out that the glass wouldn't even budge. "That was just plain silly!" she scolded herself softly.

"Hey…Princess!" a voice called out.

Ayeka looked around to see Ryoko standing in the doorway. She wanted to know what was going on with Ayeka. Ayeka was very humiliated with someone finding out what she was doing with the mirror. "Hey.." she protested, glaring at Ryoko. "…what are you doing here?"

Noticing Ayeka's red face, Ryoko shrugged with a sigh, "Time for breakfast. I have been up for a little while."

Her feeling for were the no real concern for Ryoko, Ayeka hurried with her robe. She wanted to tell Ryoko about the dream she had from the previous night. Yet, there was her dread of the idea if this were a sign of things to come.

Ryoko asked, "What's wrong…you don't look like you got enough sleep!"

The feeling of being caught in a spot, Ayeka said as she tied up the belt, "I had a bad dream of Tenchi!"

Ryoko had heard the same line before even coming from her. She and Ayeka had a long standing War of nerves between the two. Ryoko felt a bad feeling just came from Ayeka's voice. She asked, "Was he in danger?" 

"Could be. It was hard to explain!" Ayeka began to walk towards the door. "It was at night and hard to see!"

"And?" Ryoko asked with a raised eye brow. She had heard some wild stories. Yet, what was behind the idea of Ayeka's dream. Tenchi was the soul glue that held everything together for the girls in the Masiki house. Ryoko turned on her heels to walk toward the stair case. She and Ayeka began to talk about the dream.

"He was hurt…" Ayeka said, knowing that she had a difficult time trying to piece her dream together. Could she be living in her dream of the past? It sounded too hard to figure out. Yet, she was going to give her fear a real work out.

"And?" Ryoko asked, thinking of Tenchi. She knew that he was a strong warrior. She also knew about his weak side. There was a chink in the armor of great person. He did have a soft heart for the ones he had grown to love.

"I was going to help him. Things got out of hand when I was trying to look for him in the first place!" Ayeka said.

"What happened?" Ryoko said. She had started to walk down the steps. She stopped when she could hear Tenchi talking to Sasami. She stopped Ayeka from talking with a quiet, "Shh!"

Then, she placed a finger up to her lips. She was trying to silence Ayeka. She did not want Tenchi to be getting out of hand with fear. That was the last thing she wanted.

"And you want to go out with Reenie and the others to up town and see what's going on with the building of a new Wal-mart?" Tenchi asked as he and Sasami came into view. They were entering the room when Tenchi noticed Ryoko and Ayeka standing at the steps.

"Yea, I want to get something for the garden! I miss having the one back home!" Sasami sighed. She knew that there were many things that were gone from her life since she had been to America. The closeness of having everything was nice. Yet, Sasmai yearned for a much simpler way of life.

"I can understand. I don't miss the weed pulling. I'd rather be planting!" Tenchi teased.

His statement made Sasami say, "Oh! Tenchi!" then, she shook her head. She noticed her sister and Ryoko standing on the steps. She asked, "Oh, t here you are! Are you coming down for breakfast?"

"Yes…in a minute. I would like to talk to Ryoko some more!" Ayeka said. She knew she was put on the spot by just standing there.

Ryoko was a little confused by the statement. She stared at Ayeka for a second before swinging her head to stare at Tenchi and Sasami for another. She struggled as she finished climbing down the stairs. She said, "Ayeka…come on?"

Ayeka was still standing at the spot she had stopped at not eh stairs. She said, "I'll be there in a minute. O.K."

"Sure!" Ryoko said without looking at anyone. She knew things were coming to change.

Nick had been sleeping for a long time. He had drifted in and out of sleep for a while. When he finally woke up, he wondered where in earth he was. Everything was in a fog. He tried to sit up before a ringing in his head began to play with him. He wondered through the haze of pain what this room he was in was. Where were Alex and Vachon? His eyes adjusted to a darkness that he had never seen before. He was use to the dark.

Yet, this strange greenish light did not hurt him at all. He was going to let whatever was there get him. He tried to sit up and open his eyes. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He asked in a confused state, "Nat?"

"No?" a female voice said, a little coldly.

"Tracy?" he asked for a second time.

"Who?" the female voice asked, this time a little puzzled.

Nick was now at a loss. Where was he at, he wondered in his clouded mind. He had to get to the bottom of the idea of being at a loss of place and fast.

"If you open your eyes, then maybe you can find out where you are at!" a second voice said. This time was a little bit deeper and manlier.

Nick opened his eyes for the last time. The room that he was in was a drab green and was lit with an even drabber grey bulb. He stared at the room. There was nothing too the room outside of a couple of chairs and color of the walls. Grey seemed to penetrate the whole room. He asked as he tried to sit up, "Where am I?"

"You are at the guest house of the Black moon kingdom!" a male human-type man said. He was dressed in garb of a soldier.

"Oh?" Nick was very weary of these strange and new ideas that had to be just waiting for him to get his body up and moving. He was now sitting up in as very plain, but conformable bed. He noticed the mail human-type man that was dressed in a very dark grey uniform. The solider wore his blond hair short and wavy. Nick said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes…I am!" the blond solider said.

Nick stared at the solider for what seemed like more than a minute. What was going on? One minute was trying to help out his friends. Then, in the next he was waking up to what seemed like a cell of sorts.

"You are out guest. I do apologize for any inconveniences!" the blond solider said. He had been sitting on a stool for the longest time. He stood up before bowing. He said, "Our leader will here in a few minute. She wants to talk to you!"

Then, he walked over to a door. With a quick turn of the knob, he opened the door. Nick felt like stopping the blond solider. He said, "Wait!"

"Hmm?" the blond solider asked with a raised eyebrow. He turned to face Nick to asked, "What do you want?"

Only for a minute if that could happen, Nick's eight hundred year old memories seemed to quickly disappear. It was through everything he had known suddenly vanished. He did not even feel the cloud of a heavier mind control was taking a hold of. He just sat there with a blank look on his face. How or why did he feel like he had just waked up from a strange dream and couldn't remember it?

"My lady is using the mind control implant that I have developed in such a short time is going be a fast new toy for you!" Professor Temeo smiled darkly. He bowed for a second as he and a few of the others stood in the throne room of. Galaxia's

The might sailor solider of death sat on her throne. Her one hand propping her chin in a lazy, but convent pose. She smiled back as she spoke, "Well. There is something to be said for giving the tech a bit of a push!"

"Thank you, my lady!" Professor Temeo smiled again.

"It seemed too easy to catch them!" Tiger's eye smirked. He knew something was lacking this latest battle with the Sailor senshi.

"Yes. You do have a point. It seemed like a game with us. They lost a little too easy. Yet, their power was at a standstill!" Galaxia sighed a little weary. Her mind began to spin in the depiction of indication. She wanted to be sure that Nick and other two were pliable as clay. They needed to be trained. Yet, the mind control was an easy thing to use. She asked with a questioning tone, "Are you safe with this idea. I don't want any slip ups!"

"Yes…" Temeo nodded the wise fool that he was. He hoped with this new idea of kidnapping humans and using a strong mind control on them, Sailor moon could fold very easily. She was just a child by all accounts.

"What else do we have to do?" Tiger's eye asked. He was starting have fun with this idea. He had missed out on so much with the Dark moon Circus as he and his two friends were booted out of the big top. Yet, with Sailor moon's cleansing, they began their lives afresh. Or they thought so.

Tiger's eye stood quietly, thinking on how to get a hold of Reenie. There was a great deal of power behind the little moon brat. He had heard the stories before from both Prince Diamond and Rubes. He wondered how much was truth and much was fake. He had to be willing to wait. Things like getting the right time of kidnapping either Reenie or Serena had to be perfect.

"What else do you know about this strange human?" Galaxia asked. She sat up in her chair with a bored look on her face. There was no real excitement in her life for long time. She wanted to have some sporting fun.

"He does have a connection to the sailor senshi!" Jadeite said with a slight pout. He knew that if he spoke up about what he had learned in the past few months, then things could be shaded to his side.

"Yes, I had heard about that too!" Professor Temeo shirred, rolling his eyes at the former guard.

"How strong are his ties?" the golden senshi asked.

"Very strong…the other vampire the one with dark skin has a tie with Sailor Acadia!" said a voice.

Everyone turned to see Prince Diamond standing in the back. He had just entered the room when he had the conversation. He knew a little about Sailor Acadia. He had discovered something hidden in Rio's past. He was not going to let go of the information that he had heard through the rumor mill. Yet, Sailor Aradica was still Rio inside. She had the power of being a princess of a strange and wonderful planet. The idea of being a sailor senshi was something that Alex had touched on about Rio. There had been changes in her since she had many trips to Japan. Alex was thinking out loud one night at the Raven. It was the same night that Prince Diamond had disgusted himself as a mere human. He was just hanging out at the club when his ears the idea about the sailor senshi. Most of the others dismasted the idea as a plain idea of fantasy. He spoke up, "What is that she has in her present state."

Galaxia very bored with the whole idea of playing games snapped, "What is it that you are playing at, Prince Diamond?"

"She has a flaw!" Prince diamond said with a bow.

"How original!" Jadeite said with a snort. His distend could be felt. He knew Prince Diamond was just waiting time. "They all have flaws. That's what makes them human!"

As prince Diamond straightened himself up, he said, "not like this. She has not been a Sailor Senshi for very long!"

"And she's a weakling?" Jadeite asked with a raised eyebrow. He had a feeling that he went up against this newer senshi. "I have fought her before. She nearly blew me out of the waiter with this strange new power she had."

"All?" Galaxia smeared. She knew there was more to this story then, Jadeite was leading up to. "Did she hurt you?"

Her words seemed to be very bitter pill. He gave a slight glare at her. Then he turned around to walk out of the room. He knew she was pulling his chain. If by chance he said as he stopped for a second, "No, but she's a weak link in their chain!"

"So, there is a new way of bring the sailors down," Tiger's eye thought. "How are we going to use this new tool as well?"

He watched as the others milled their thoughts together as if they were putting together a plan of war absent the Sailors.

"It's summer…" a female voice said with a heavy British accent.

A bird flew past the owner of the voice. The sun simmered in the warmth of the day. There was a hum of bugs in the distance mixed with a far off water sprinkler.

The second voice added to the first British and female, "There's nothing to do here!"

A young girl with pink pom-poms skipped up the sidewalk with an older girl with purple shirt and grey shorts walking up the sidewalk.

"I am so bloody freaken' bored!" a third British female closed out the chat.

The three girls were lying on the grass near the front entrance. One had a funny, billed hat parked on her head. The second was dressed in a short boiler maker's set. The last one was dressed a set of cut offs and a loud orange shirt. These girls were Charlie, Rio and Stephanie. The days spent in high hopes of goofing were paying off with a slight sour taste in the mouth. Salem, Ohio was a small town that did not have a lot to offer for a set of young girls were lived in the fast pace of London England.

The pink haired girl had stopped in front of the three who were lying on the grass. She noticed Charlie was having her one arm lying over her eyes. She gasped, "What's going on?"

Charlie hummed, "Hmm?"

"I said, "what's going on?" the pink haired girl asked. She knew that the rest of the world was still busy. She walked up to the girls who were lying on the grass.

"We're bored out of our minds!" the second girl sighed. She felt the heat of the mid-day sun trying to peek out of the trees. Her name was Rio.

"What?" the pink haired girl gasped; loudly. She had been to the park with some friends. She and the dark haired girl were walking home. She said, "Are you just going to lie around like this all summer!"

Rio and Charlie quickly exchanged glances. Then, Rio looked over at the third girl and asked, "What about you, Steph?"

"Maybe…" the third girl sighed. She was the cousin of Rio. She sat up and stretched. As Stephanie noticed the brightness of the sun breaking through the leaves on the trees, she sighed, "I hope there something to do…this town is very small!"

"There are tons of things to do!" the pink haired yipped softly. Her arms were quickly folded over her chest.

"Yes, it takes money…Reenie!" Rio said as she was about to stand up.

"Some don't!" Reenie said. She had a feeling that someone just did not want to get and go. "Are you going to stay like that all summer?"

"Maybe!" Rio said as she got up to stretch. "Remember I still work at the radio station in Alliance."

"Yea," Hotura said who the dark haired girl with Reenie was. "You have all summer to run back and forth?"

"I just need a little push in the right direction…that's all!" Rio teased. She smiled at the four girls. "I just want one day to take it easy. There is so much for this summer to come and see…I really want a day or two to just do nothing!"

"Are you kidding'?" Reenie huffed. She raised her arms half way before letting home fall to the sides. She was now getting annoyed at Charlie, Stephanie and Rio.

"Yet," Rio cocked her head to one side. "I have to meet my aunt Laura in town!" there was a sour glance in her eyes. Her aunt Laura seemed to be causing waves of discontent before Rio even shown up.

"Where is old' pickle puss going to show up!" Charlie asked. She sat up quickly.

"Old' pickle puss?" Hotura asked with touch of a giggle. She wondered why Rio was putting up such a fuss over an aunt. She had only her father to speak of. Rio came from a much larger family. She did have dealing with her aunts and uncles when she was in lowland. She believed she was safe from family only to realize that she had an aunt in the states.

"Yes…she's my aunt over here. She fell in love with this town named Salem for a reason…" Rio sighed. She was the first to hear the front door being opened. She turned to see Serena and Rei standing on the stoop. She asked, "What's gives?"

"Nothing," Serena said as she glanced at Rio for a minute. Then, she turned to Charlie and Stephaney. "Charlie…you got a phone call from Jamie. He talked to your grandmother over the phone!"

"Me Grannies!" Charlie said as she was the last to sit up. She combed the back of her head with her fingers. "It's been a while. What does she have to say…?"

"She just wanted to know if you were doing fine. That's all!" Serena surged.

There was no getting around the fact that Charlie was an East-end girl. This was a part of Lola that was rough around the edges. Rio had spent time with Charlie, growing up. She got to know this brassy girl from the dock-lands. "Your grannie is just thinking of you…that's all!" Rio sighed.

"I have to give her a buzz!" Charlie said. She glanced at her watch. She gasped at the time. She said to Rio, "Me and Steph have to leave. We got some chores to do!"

Rio snorted with a smile, "you told me that you were bored just a minute ago!"

"Come on…those byways this morning. It's nearly going on elevens!" she smirked. She waited for Stephanie to get stand up. There was something about being British that told the other girls that Rio was different from a semi-rigid life style.

"There is always the library, Rio!" Stephanie smirked. She was going to give riot's chain a slight tug.

"Stephanie Bingham!" Rio gasped. She knew Stephanie was going a bit too far. Yet, there was always a bit of chain pulling from Rio to her cousin. "I don't spent all my time at the library!" she pouted. She began to put a hand under her chin.

"Yea…there's Dusty too!"

"And the newspapers…or have you forgot, Steph?" Charlie chided. The idea of the job deceiving the daily news hung over the three like a thick cloud of doom. They hoped someday they would get out of doing the daily grind.

"Yea…I hear ya…" Stephanie sighed. Then, she glanced at Rio. "Rio…we have got to go. There is still a little for us to do this summer!"

"I will have to go in and see what I can do for right now," Rio pouted again.

"What your aunt?" Serena asked as she opened the door up.

"I can see any time that I feel like. I think she wants me over for some tea!" Rio began to walk over to the door. She felt trapped in a long day of wearing dresses in the warm spring day. "I have a feeling that she going to order me about for a long time in coming!"

"Why?" Serena asked. She had her mother to boss her about. Yet, her mother world is fair at times. She did blot know what Rio had to go through with her Aunts and Uncles as she grew up.

"She's the second oldest in the family. With that I have been not hoping to see her here. She had taken up housekeeping ever since she met some bloke here and got nearly married."

"What?" Serena gaped as she stood with her mouth hanging open.

"Serena keeps outpour mouth closed!" luna hushed. She just happened to drop in at the present time to see what was ought on.

"You don't know me all that well, now do you, sere an!" Rio smirked. She was going to save the dirt for some other time. She wanted to know why her aunt was calling her.

The rain was going to come right on Siena's head if he wasn't going to vet more careful. He had spent some time with Devon. Seyia wanted to stay for a little while longer. There was so much to learn from Devon it would take the young singer a long time to hear. Yet, he was still in training with the rest of the sailor senshi.

Seyia heard his mobile phone go off. He pulled it out from his shirt pocket as his trend to go. He was now standing at the steps of the walk. He glanced around to see the night sky. It was a pale twilight. It looked at the number. It was Yaten calling him up when the number came up on the screen. He pushed the talk button and asked as he raised the phone up to his ear, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Yatens's voice was perfectly normal and calm. He was being a little nosey as he checked up on his older brother. "…you just better get home. Taiki will be going nuts if you don't show up at least ten!"

"He is such a worrywart!" Seyia sighed with a smirk. He began to walk down the path leaching up to the side walk. He had to be careful as he made his way up the street. He remembered the night that Prince Diamond kidnapped Nick, Vachon and Alex right in front of the sailor senshi. The terrific battle was not like any he had seen in the past. It seemed like Galaxia was pulling out all the stops.

"I heard that!" Taiki groaned over the phone.

"There is nothing like family love!" Seiya thought to homself as he walked up the sidewalk.

"Where are you?" Yaten asked. He knew that Seiya was just doing a little bit of digging.

"Lincoln…." Seyia said as he glanced at the street sign as he past the corner of one street and another.

He told his little brother that it was going to be a little longer than he thought as he past the house. Seyia didn't want to cross anyone for the time being. It wouldn't look good for him if evil would come up.

What can go wrong today?" Seyia thought. He did want evil rearing up its ugly head at the time.

"You have to curb your speaking!" Yaten teased.

"Yea...you ought to talk about that!"

"You are such a pain!"

"Look who's talking!"

"What are you yakking about now, little brother?" Taiki's voice could be heard over the phone.

"I'm just giving Seyia his just desserts!" Yaten grasped.

Seiya had to laugh softly at the other two. He smiled as he shirked around the sidewalk near nick's house.

"Just tell him to hurry up. We have to get up early!"

The mention of the word early was a little too much for Seyia. He wanted to turn and fight for what was right with him. He had to stop himself from jumping into the situation. Both Serena and Princess Kakyuu would be upset at his foolishness. He stopped the corner. There were a few signs of the fighting from that night. A new and very deep cut in the phone poll was still visible. He had heard about some young kids who might have done the dirty work.

He waited for a minute with the heat begin to buzz in his head. There was nothing like the summer to mess with your mind. He took a breath of sweet air. He heard a noise of the night birds as they chirped their mating calls.

He told his brother that he was going to be there in no time.

Then, he placed his phone back in his pocket. He crossed the street. He had heard from Rio about a short cut. He wanted to take it and make time for himself. There was no room for chance. He was always the risk taker as he grew up. It was usually Taiki was the one who either tried to talk him out of something stupid or gave Seiya another talk about the foolish things were the outcome.

As he walked up the sidewalk past the old houses of Salem, Seiya felt sad. There were people who did not know there was a war between good and evil that was raging in the rest of the galaxy. Yet, he knew it was better for them.

Somewhere a radio was playing loudly. Old Beatles tune was running around in the air. It seemed to fit the mood if the night. It was Paul who had sung, "Picks up the rice!"

It was like a sense of a Victorian novel being unfolded in front of Seiya. Seiya noticed the over head netting of tree branches. It was the closeness the branches that made Seiya stop and thought. He felt fish like as he walked down the street. The deep blue sky was an ocean within itself. He heard and saw the tiny flying incents as they buzzed around him. This was home for him at the present state. He knew he could not go home just yet. He had talked about it for months with his brothers. He did not want to be disheartened as they began to search for Princess Kakyuu.

Another song floated past him as he crossed another corner. He could not hear the music too well. The door was closed to the outside world.

He began to walk quickly. He knew something wasn't right for now. He wanted to go home and be safe. Then he started to think about how brave he really was. He tried his best to be cheerful with his happy go lucky personify. Yet, he was a little too much with his ultra cool man porosity. He could turn people off with that.

He reached the park. The Centennial Park was huge in a way. He could cut through to make time, but what at cost. He had to stick to the edge of the park. He was going to be on the safe side four once.

Seyia had heard the noises of kids still playing the dark. The fireflies were still coming out of the grass in dribs and drabs. He could smell the spicy perfume of candles being used on a porch. The night bugs were just starting to come out of their spring growth and heading up towards being pests in the summer.

He could remember what happened just this past month. They were many changes in the past month. He hoped for the good to come out of people instead of the bad. He was just tired of fighting. "For what?" he thought.

Images flashed in his mind of what he had seen. There were so many that he could not remember all them. His past was a hard thing to remember. He had come down with his brothers to find their princess. They were very close to finding her. He had fought for so long he was willing to not give up.

He stopped in front of a tennis court. A large spot light was still on, casting a circle of daylight. The moths and other flying bugs danced as they were drawn to the light. He wondered if Serna was still up or not. He knew Rio and Rei gave up on papers for the summer. Rei had found a job at a local video store and Rio had a job at the radio station in Alliance. He knew Rei did not like the papers. There were times both her and Rio with her cousin Stephanie were caught in the rain or wind. Lita and Ami were getting ready for summer school. There was a thought, was Lita following Ami to school for the summer. What was she thinking? He had to give a laugh while he walked down the side walk nearing the intersection of Pershing and union. He wondered if Lita was trying to be the best as she wanted to be. There was always room for improvement.

There was very little idea what Seiya wanted to do. He was just still a teen who was looking for himself. He was still a long ways away. He wanted to stop at Tenchi's house and see if everyone was o.k. there was talk about a few new strangers who wanted to make Tenchi's life tough. He could hear Ryoko and Keyone sitting on the porch, enjoying the warm summer evening. His house was not too far away from Tenchi's house. He stopped over to ask the girls what was going on.

Ryoko was sitting on a rocking chair, with her one arm just dangling over the one arm rest. Her eyes were half closed when she was listing to the sounds of the night. Keyone on the other hand was just watching the stars. A large plastic mug of ice water sat on her lap with one hand holding on to the handle.

Seiya walked up to the edge of the yard and asked, "What's up with you guys?"

Ryoko opened her eyes slowly and smiled, "Nothing…"

"Just talking…" Keyone added before taking a sip of water. She was quick and quiet as she sipped. She replaced the mug back to its resting place.

'There is a moon out for the night!" he nodded. Then, he tried to look for the moon. It was high over head with a few stars shining around the moon. It looked pretty and sad at the same time.

"It's nice. I had to say that school would be a long way off!" Keyone said. She was just making sure Seiya was going to spend some time in thinking about keeping his mind sharp for classes next fall.

"Don't rush me. I want to enjoy this summer. It's not normal for me to be thinking about class work when the summer is so free!"

Ryoko asked in an icy tone, "What about Lita and Ami?"

"First off…" Seyia winced with a pouting mouth. "Ami is just one of those girls who don't need to be around too many guys. She likes Taiki because they are such mind freaks!"

"She is a great help too!" Keyone chided. She gave Seyia a warning glance. She knew that Seyia was like Serena, always wanted to goof off when the idea crossed her mind.

"Yes…she has great strength like the rest of the girls. She will be a good doctor someday!" Seyia nodded.

"What about Taiki?" Ryoko asked. She had been puzzled why Taiki did speak of what was in his future.

"He wants to go to college first and see what he can learn in some understudy group if there is such a thing. Then, he wants to go Europe to see what he can learn there. He knows about a lot of things but, he wants to know more!" Seiya sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Lita found out about some new English Teacher, he's a hottie!" Ryoko said. She found out about a new teacher that just moved into the Salem Ohio area. He came from Carson City, Nevada he had one family ties to the Salem Area. She wanted to check out the teacher to how hot he was. Yet, she was still in love with Tenchi.

"Mister Lark!" Seyia nodded. He had been talking to Miss Urd about a new change to the teaching staff at Salem High. "He's different!"

"Yea…it does seem like he keeps to himself!" Keyone added.

"I did not know about his family history. He told Miss Urd about being born in Nevada, but having a few ties in this area," Ryoko said.

"I just hope that he is going to be a better teacher than some of them oil have already met!" Seiya said. He tried to get along with people. There were times he just wanted to be alone and just think about the past. He told the girls that he could be seeing them soon. He turned to walk up the street towards his house.

When Seyia got to his house, Taiki was sitting at the witting desk, looking over a series of papers. He had sent away from the University of Troika an informational packet. It came in the mail that day. He looked up from his reading to see Siena's reflection on a picture. He said, "It took you long enough!"

"I wanted to visit for a minute or two with Miss Ryoko and Keyone!" Seiya shrugged as he tried to hide a smile from his brothers.

"You just wanted to charm the very bugs off the tree?" Yaten asked as he sailed in to the room with a stack of towels. He wanted to do something other than just sit and wait for his oldest brother to come in from the night.

"Yes!" Seiya groused. He was getting himself use to American lifestyle. There was no school to think about until the fall. Why did the other two have to be so much a pain? Yet, he couldn't live without them.

"We are just…" Taiki said, taking the letter up in his hands. "…worried about you. Remember you are our leader of sorts!"

"I know…" Seyia's voice began to trail off. He became lost in his own thoughts. He wanted to tell to Serena how he really felt.

"You need to be more focused!" Taiki said. He knew that Seyia was in his own world.

"You are so hung up on that meatball head!" Yaten's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Uh?" Seyia gasped, coming back to earth.

"You are the one who I have to worry about the most at times!" Yaten griped with a sour look on his pretty boy face. "Taiki is still very competent."

"What does that mean?" Seiya hissed. His feelings were now being pricked. There was always fighting between the three. This was one of those times where everything was being gently pushed to one corner very quickly.

"To me, Serena is still a child. I think Renee has more sense than her!" Yaten pointed out. He folded his arms over his chest. "You know that Serena is going to be queen of this part of the galaxy!"

"And I know that Darien is going to be king!" Seyia pointed out what Yaten was driving at. "Just this once. I want to think aorist me and no one else!"

"Not even Serena?" Taiki said.

"Maybe…" Seyia sighed, before gnawing on his lower lip for just second. He knew that his brothers were just being brothers.

"What about the others?" Yaten asked. He had his mixed feelings for inner senshi. He did tease Setsuma about her hair at times. He was cool to both Hakura and Michuri. He wondered about Houtra, Reenie and Rio. He tried to get along with Chibi-chibi.

"Not even the pothers. I just wanted to think about myself for a minute or two. I have been kind of not thinking about me!" he shrugged, He started to head off for bed, feeling tired fromtr eh long walk. Seiya glanced at Taiki. He asked, "What's that?"

"A letter," Taiki uttered. He noticed it was still in his hands. "I think I'm going to college a little earlier, if we stay here!"

A bit puzzled, Seyia wondered out loud, "You mean here…in the states?"

Trying to reassure his brother, Taiki smiled, "No…back in Japan!"

"What about in Europe?" Yaten sneered. He knew that Taiki wanted to be with Ami. It seemed like Ami and Taiki were growing fond of each other.

"After I get a full two years in first…I'm meaning…Tokyo U has so much to offer!" Taiki blushed. Then, he thought, "Is that minx Yaten is reading my mind?"

""Look, we have been through a lot. I would like to slow just a little," Seyia sighed. He glanced at his two brothers. There was nothing which could stand in their way on going back to look for their princess.

"Yes. I can understand what you are saying. Yet, I was just making some plans on my own…" Taiki sighed He wanted to give him a little taste of freedom. What other people knew about life in the norm was a wonder in which Taiki puzzled over most of his life. "If we don't see our Princess Kyuuku, then I want to go to college!"

"Is that your finally answer?" Yaten teased a little at his older brother.

Taiki knew that Yaten was pulling his chain a little. He glared with a mild look in his eyes, "Yes. I will go to college!"

"Then, we have to get on the ball with the fighting and searching. Our Princess is not going to wait forever for us!" Seyia said.

With that, Seyia wanted to look at Taiki's letter. The idea of Taiki going to college was a far dream that they wanted to share very much.

Somewhere in the hours before dawn and morning Deavon was just sitting on the front stoop of his home on Lincoln Avenue. He was listening to Paul Simon's Graceland on CD. He was on the second song as he half sang half mumbled, "She looked me over, and I guess she thought I was all right, All right in a sort of a limited way, for an off-night, She said, "Don't I know you, From the cinematographer's party?"  
I said, "Who am I, To blow against the wind?"*

*(from Paul Simon's Graceland, second song, I know what I know!)

The idea of having a little break from being an actor and a vampire, made Sam stop to give himself a little breathing room. He did not know why he was had not move out of the time and place he ended up in. it still felt strange. The feeling was stranger than his first leap into another person's body which baffled him to no end. Just when will leave and end up sometime and where was really up to fate. On the other hand, he was no in any hurry just yet.

Then, Al came out of nowhere. There was a side long look of surprise on Al's face. He wondered what was going on with Sam. He asked, "Why are you out here?"

"Nothing…I just wanted to be outside…that's all!" Sam shrugged. He knew he needed to get out and have a breath of air.

"Oh?" was Al's answer of mild surprise. He heard his com-link squeaking. He pushed the buttons on the link. He sighed, "You better get in as soon as possible. You know that…"

He was interrupted by Sam with a, "I know!" Sam rolled his eyes to glare at his friend. He wanted to be normal again. Could he be that normal and live with being a creature of the night? It was a difficult question he was being torn with.

"And there is something else that Ziggy had found!" Al groaned a little perturbed. He knew that Sam was just being Sam. He had to get it through his friend's thick skull he was just helping out the brilliant man of science until Sam came back home.

"What about?" Sam asked with smirk. He placed a hand on his chin. He was actually having fun with leap. The idea of staying one place was notice in Sam's idea. He did not like the idea of drinking blood or not seeing the sun. Yet, the idea of being in a small town far away from the other leaps was conformable.

"There is a hitch in the system with Ziggy's data base!" Al said. He punched a few buttons in his comlink.

"A hitch?" Sam uttered loudly and slowly. He wondered what was going on with Ziggy. He came up with a standard statement. "Run a check with the computer!"

"All ready taken care of. There is a clearing program right now on the lower end of Ziggy's memory, but we haven't found anything just yet!"

Sam was well versed in computer and he had no idea of what he was facing him at the time. He wondered for a little bit. He said, "What else can you do?"

"We do have back up…but, we don't know for how long. Things are getting out of hand with idea of government cutbacks and very limited space!" Al sighed with a glance up at the very slowly movement of the dawn. He knew that the black was turning into a dark blue. He had watched sunsets and sunrises with a sort childlike awe.

Sam felt like he could stay here just a little while longer. It was like his own greediness talking to him. He hoped for a time to watch other people work out things with no help from him. He wanted to say something to Al. he glanced at his watch. He remembered what Laquiox had ordered him in a joking way, "All good little vampires should be in bed on later then an after half before sun up!"

"He is one strange!" Sam sighed with a roll of his eyes. He couldn't understand why Laquiox had a warped sense of humor.

"Yea…the guy is not wrapped up too tight! Look," Al said as he bent down to get Sam's attention, "there is a weird pattern to all of this. Yet, we cannot start or stop with this one leap. I have a bad feeling about this!"

Sam noticed Al's face. Al was wrong about some leaps. Others were the idea of flying on the edge of the seat approach. He had seen all of them through with Sam. Sam had different idea of what made a person tick. He studied his friend's face and asked, "What is going on with the others that made you very contrived?"

"Have you heard about a group calling them the army of the Galaxia?" Al asked with a puzzled glance at Sam before looking at his com-link.

Sam shook his head. He began to wonder about Galaxia. Who was this stranger? Was Al pulling his leg? He said, "No…I could not tell you yes. There were weird stories of monsters. Yet, this is a small town and full of long tales!"

Al was puzzled about what Sam had told him. He checked with his com-link. Placing a hand up to his chin, he said, "What about young girls with super powers!"

Sam was convinced that Al had flipped a little. Everything was being twisted a little from reality to fantasy. On questioning Al, Sam said, "Girls with super powers. What like super girl…Clark Kent's cousins?"

He gave a snort of a laugh. Then, he stopped short. There were stories about a group of girls who fought on the side of love and justice. They were pretty powerful as a group. Even sailor moon could pull a surprise or two from her hat so to speak. He said, "There is a group calling themselves the Sailor Scouts!"

"Ah-a!" Al said with a wide grin. He knew that Sam was on the same page as he was. He checked the name of the sailor scouts with his com-link. He said as he pointed at Sam, "I knew that you were the only one!"

"What?" Sam asked, with a raised eyebrow. Who else was in the same boat in the information game about the sailor scouts?

"There were strange reports around town…about the locals seeing a bunch of girls weaning short skirts!" Al sighed.

"That's nothing?" Sam sighed. He knew that Sam was just noticing the local color for the first time.

"And they were using magical powers…like in a fairy story." Al said, roiling his eyes.

"Like what?" he asked his long time friend.

"This one girl had a real magic wand…she was using it for something!" Sam said as he placed his hand up to his cheek. He was trying to figure out what was going on with his memory.

"Magic wand!" Al said as he began to punch in the data he was getting from Sam. He glanced bug-eyed at the outcome on his comlink. "What the…?"

"And you get?" Sam asked. He careened his head to see Al looking at the comlink with a puzzled expression on his face.

"It says here…according to Ziggy, a girl who fights love and justice…"

"A girl who fights for love and justice…" Sam shook his head out of disbelief. "Like Superman?"

"No…he fights for truth, justice and the American way. There is nothing in the idea of love in his statesman!"

"I am going to go around in circles trying to figure out what you are trying to say to me, Al!" Sam uttered.

"Are you sure about this? Al asked. He knew Sam was against a wall. He said, "There is something else that had come to light with this strange turn of events!"

"And that being?" Sam asked. He raked his one hand over his hair. He was trying to figure who were these magical girls.

"There is a force that no one knows about. It's pure evil. These magical girls are fighting against. Lately, some agents of the dark force got a hold of Nick Knight and two others!"

"And Alex…Vachoin!"

"What about this..." Al said, glancing at his comlink. There was a new twist in the tale. It was getting into a place that even Al found it too fanatic to think about.

Sam glanced up at the sky. It was quickly changing over from dark to pale, pale to light. It was on the edge of morning. For the Edge of morning had its own creatures. Neither human nor other beasts who wanted to travel into the realm of earth. Tiny flowers and incents buzzed into life from the heat of the ground. Others yawned and stretched as the world took shaped, solid color. He said in a small, still voice, "I have to go. There so much to think about."

Sam stood up to see a small mole hobbling alone in the middle of the yard. Then, opening the door up to step inside of the entrance, Sam said, "Then world that Nick is in…I have a feeling that he is going to change…and not for the better."

"There is a fifty-nine present that Nick will be monsters…even the like of his own father, Laquiox would hate!" Al's eyes were cold with fear.

Sam studied his friend's face for just a minute before opening the door. He knew Al was not lying this time. "I have to sleep on it…those girls are thought. I have seen them fight."

"You have?"

There was a minute of hopeful quiet between two friends. He fumbled for the knob. The world was nearly at the edge of the morning light. Sam quickly entered into the entrance way of the house. He hoped with the closing of the door, that the light did not come in. he placed a hand up to the door. There was heat than Sam could feel just a minute. It was sun trying to warm the earth. The very thing he feared as a creature of the night. Then, he heard Al entering the room by another route. He said, "Just be careful Sam!"

"Yes…I will!" Sam said. He felt the hairs pricking up on the back of his neck. He wondered why he was experiencing this strange fear that was starting eat at him. He had to think about magical girls with special powers. He began walk towards the stairs. He was going to bed for a long day's sleep.

Mishiso and Keyone were jogging in the park. It was going to be a normal and boring morning. There was no more school. They were off duty for a while. There were a few things to do at the house, yet they could wait. It was nice to have a morning free from the daily grind of being police officers. They were going past the long path leading up to the pool. It seemed very quiet and still. The sun light was just beginning to dance along the middle of the water. When the two reached the top of the path, Keyone huffed, "Let's stop here!"

The day was grey. It looked like rain. It was earliest part of June. The grass was emerald and short. The two were excited about idea of not being attacked by Yugi. It seemed like Yugi had fallen back to another world. She was scared to see what could have gone wrong when your guard was down.

There was talk about Sailor moon. Keyone had wondered who Sailor moon was. Was it a story that Sasami and Renee cooked up. They were still so young at that age.

Mishosi has stopped in front of the stop sign. She panted hard and looked at the tennis court. It was the area of small battle between the sailors and the nega-moon. She was well aware of the sailor sensei was well. She didn't question Sasami's idea. She was very much a child in the mind. She had no resident of having an extra pair of hands in fighting crime.

"What a grey day!" Keyone sighed, feeling lungs burn a little from running. She looked at her watch. Sasami was getting up for the day. She was usually the first one to get up with the dawn. She was quick with doing what her cooking for the morning. Keyone and Mishosi were usually in the kitchen with her.

"It's going to rain…I bet!" Mishosi sighed. She did not want to even attempt to go any further if it was going rain on them.

"I hope not. That's the least of my worries…" Keyone sighed. She stood up a little straighter. She could taste the salt on her lips. She must have been running a little too hard.

"Yea, I hear you…" the blond Galaxy police officer sighed as she looked at the pool on the bottom of the hill. The day was just starting for the two. She wondered if the pool would be opened later in the day. The last week in May was the finishing up of school.

"I want no more worries for the day. I have so much to catch up on, it's silly!" Keyone said. Then, she decided to walk down the sidewalk from the pool. She was going to cut past the pool down the hill towards the corner of Union and Oak.

"Wait, Keyone!" Mishosi wined a little. She began to walk, following the other footsteps.

Within a sort of laugh, Keyone said, "Come on…slow poke. I can't wait for you!"

"Keyone?" she asked. Then, something caught her eye. It was a humming bird that was out of season. It was getting in the feeding with an early start. Mishosi never saw a humming bird that close. It zipped around the lower branches of a tree.

"What's it now, Mishosi?" Keyone sighed, rolling her eyes at her friend.

"That bird," she smiled. She and her friend watched as the bird buzzed around the grass before taking off. It was nothing to the rest of the world. Yet, to two girls in a small town it was something nice.

"I see it," Keyone said. She breathed deeply once again before telling Mishosi that it was getting late. They had to head back.

The sun was razing in the sky. Yellow was mixing with the orange of the heart of the sun. It meant it was to be very warm in the midday. There was going to be small battle in that heat.

Betty was hurried as she made her way in early morning in the back streets in Salem. She knew on how to get to nice the older parts of Salem by using the back roads. She was going to visit Rio before dropping off a list of adds with a local lumberyard. She was driving up Third Street. She noticed the old Jr. High school on the way over to where Rio was staying on Union. She barrowed Mackie's car when she was in Alliance.

"It was going to be hot one," Betty huffed as she pulled over to roll down the window. Parking for a second, she noticed a jogger running up the street. She thought to herself, "Buddy…you're crazy!"

She wondered if the heat was getting to her as well. She understood the heat of a summer's day was very demanding. She wondered if she was going to make it until the car reached the house.

Meanwhile, Steve and Dusty were trying to find Allen. It seemed like Allen had disappeared from the house all morning. There was nothing to be had saying where Allen had gone. Dusty went up to Seiya's house in order to find Allen. Steve went along with him. Dusty and Steve were walking up the street near Seiya's house. They were going to see if Seiya would like to listen to a baseball game on the radio. Dusty and Steve were becoming baseball fans as they were continuing to stay on in the states. They were known Seiya was into sports.

Seiya was just finishing out a pass with the mower. The grass was growing too fast for anyone to keep with. He needed to stop mowing so much. He wished he did not have to mow. He liked living in an apartment back in Tokyo. Mowing grass was not his thing. He turned to see Steve and Dusty coming up the side walk. He turned off hate mower. He felt his hands go numb after the mower had quit.

"What are you doing?" Dusty asked with a shrug of the shoulders.

Seiya released the bar break to shut down the mower. He glanced at the young pilot with a startled stare. He was caught off guard by Dusty and Steve's sudden appearance. He said, "I'm mowing the grass. Doesn't this look like fun?"

Steve hated to do anything yard work piped in, "No it don't!"

"Steve!" Dusty gasped as he turned to see Steve looking over his shoulder. He knew that Steve was standing on his tip-toes to look over his shoulder. "Quit looking over my shoulder. What will I do with you?"

Steve flashed a toothy grin, "Send me back to London!"

Seiya had to smile at the two. They acted more like bothers than best friends. He said, "Why are you here?"

The door opened and Yaten stepped out onto the porch. He needed to help his older brother with the yard work. He did not want to do it at first, but there was a reason for his face sudden change. He had been writing a song for a new CD. He had hit a wall during the time he was writing. Taiki ahd offered him some help with the song writing. He flet liokle a complete child when he had said no to his older bporther. He interupeted saioya by calliong out, "Hey…Seiuya…what are Steve and Dusty ehre?"

Seoya smiled a little as he knew thast Yaten was just beuing himse;lf. He said, "I was just askign that same quesiton."

"Tehre is a baseball game oin the wireless," Duisty said hwne he tuernd to face Yaten.

Yaten stepped off of the porch and begna to walk towards the gargare. He was goimg to get a rake to help out Seiya.

"If tjhere is a game…I can't afford to miss it!" seiya smirked at his little bporther. "I'm sure it's going to be a good one!"

"Borther!" Yaten rolled his eyes at Seiya. He was trying to figure out why Seiya wnatned to see a dumb old baseball game.

"Ah…please inroge my little borhter!" Seioya pitioted out YAetn with a thumb.

Betty had turend off to the corncer of Uion and thrdi befreo Steve and Dusty saw Seiya. Bnow she was coming ujp on uoin ave. she honked her horn at the boys were stnaidng at Seiya's hosue. She could see them just for a minute. There was nothing to see. Berry had to stop at rio's house. She said to herse;f, "Thney had nothing too do this summer!"

Steve and the other three waved quiklcy. He saod, "that's miss Rioberts!"

"Yea…she has go thbrough and get her line uip owth Rio done ujp. With rio and Ami there was a few new idea they wanted to throw at Mister Sherwood."

"when did Ami get imnto the act?" Yaten aksed. He was surprised to hear Ami was helping out wht Rio in script writing.

"This week, there was a few things that even the great Miss Roberts couldn't get mind on!" Dusty sighed.

"rio must be very lucky or talnweted!" Yaten said.

"Yet, Ami has a few bones of talewnt too!" Seoya shugged.

Betty noticed Skuld and Sasmai rolling up the stareet on skates hwen she drove up the street. She hjd no idea what was going to happen next. She droive the car as easily as the next person could. She woidnerd if she should have phoned rio to see iuf the young girl was goiung to be at home. She had a feeling Rio wasn't going to be there. She was wrong at first. Rio was pretty myuch a reliagble girl. She did not want to goof far from home.

Betty had to slow down when she saw another older car that was inchikng algone the road. she rrmmebered what it was. There uin front of her was a 1923 model T. she was wodnmering who was driving such an old car.

The car betgan to slow down to the poiutn where Betty cyhokd see the number of the linese plate. She hoped it was not running out of gas. Shge would just have to go around the car in order to get to rio's house.

Reenie and chibi-chibi were jumping rope towqaerds Skuld's house. They wanted to go pover to playh with Sasami and Skuld. To betty, it seemed like the dya was prety much a a run in the mill day with one exception. The car in front of betty's was not mvomg at a;l;l. sje was becomikng a little iratated with the the droiver in the model T.

Reenie looked aorund to see what was makignt he noise. She had to wodnered why there was a model T driving aorund.

"chibi-chibi?" chibi-chibi gaped at the sight of the car.

"Yea…loolk who is behind that car…it's Miss Roberts!" Reenie said as she noticed trhe other older car. Machie's car was a late model 1934 ford with white wall tires. It was dark bleu on the outside with cream interdor.

"Reenie?" chibi-chibi asked with wide eyes. She tiurend to see the old car puttering up the street. There was a strange look on the driver's face. It seemed like Reenie and Chibi-chibi had seen the driver before.

Reenie had to do a doulbe take. Insdie of the model T was Rubeus. He was dressed very stangely. It was not his noraml clothes that he was in. itsndea, he was in a suit and ite. Wjhat was going on?

"Hey…Reenie?" Sasami's vioce called out. She was skating up the street when she saw Reemie and Chibi-chibi.

"Oh no…" Reenie thoight. She had to think of soemthing fast or she and the others will be kindnapped. "I think I see Rebues."

"Give me a minute…" Skuld siad as she nearly halted on the grass. She had to stop on the grass for one reeaosn, she did not want to fall over on the pavemewnt.

"Why now…" Reenie thboguth. She had give Chibi-chibi an ordfer to go back to the hosue and get Serena. There was no time to do anything else. Was there a feeling of Whicked lady bubbling upo to the sufiuace. "My friends will be kidnapped loile before."

She looked at the old car. It was not stopping for any reason. It was heading for the house where the Sailor Senshi lived.

"I don't want to relieve the past!" she thought in a fear of the evil that was kept under heavy wraps in her mind.

"Are you O.K.?" Sasami asked Skuld.

"Yea..sure…I have been just thinking!" Skuld sighed. She did not want to be treated like a little kid again.

"About what?"

"Life!" she sighed. She realized that Sasami was just looking for her. She had a good friend in this special princess.

"You are getting old!" Sasami sighed before laughing.

"Maybe!" she pursued her lips to one side.

Then there was something that struck the two strange. There was a hint of danger in the air. The two girls had stopped laughing to stare at the old model-T. It was turning into a lump of a black shapely mass.

"What is that?" Sasami gaped at the figure standing at the road which was very near the sailor Senshi house.

Betty nearly slammed into the mass with the car. She became frightened with the sense of evil starting to creep into the car she was borrowing.

"Oh great!" Reenie gasped at the horror of finding out she could have been too late. She hoped that for a miracle.

Mina and Lita were stepping out of the house. They were going to go and some books to read. There was nothing else to do for the few weeks of summer break. They were not use to have all this free time on their hands out side of house work. They noticed something strange unfolding in front of their eyes.

"The car had stopped in the middle of the road?" Mina said.

There was something that nearly made Lita jump back. Darkness was coming from it in a blindly race towards the Sailor's house. She said, "Get Rei out here!"

"What?" Mina asked. She was not that easily convinced that there was an evil present in that car.

"That car…" Lita said before leaning forward to whisper in Mina's ear. "I feel cold coming from that car!"

"Are you right?" Mina questioned her best friend with a puzzled glance. She wanted to give a good shake to Lita for pulling her chain hard. She turned to see the car turning from a dark green to black. "I think I've changed my mind!" her eyes grew wide with surprised.

"See…I'm telling you the truth!" Lita said as she tried to pull Mina back into the house.

Seiya and the others were watching the car changing. Taiki did not speak as he thought of a way of getting Steve and Dusty into the house as a dissections. Seiya said, "There is a new…"

"…a new TV show on cable…you have got to see!" Taiki said as he spot of picked up what Seiya was driving at, get Steve and Dusty in the house.

"What show?" Steve asked. His face was a little curious as he wondered why Seiya was being so over the top about a just a simple TV shows.

"Yea?" Dusty added. He was going to see Rio and that was his idea all morning long. He had seen her. He was hoping to hear about her family coming over for the reengagement party. She was had two maddened aunts who lived in town. He hoped the two aunts were not going to put their feet into the planning. Rio had it all thought out with help from her Aunt Iva and her Grand'Mere, Vivienne.

"And what else?" Steve added. He had a feeling of being pushed around was Seiya's game. He wanted to speak up and tell Seiya that he was not going with Dusty to watch some TV show.

"We've got a new…" Seiya began to speak before he and the others heard a scream. They were watching the black car changing into a large black bull. The driver had disappeared in to a void. His gut was telling things were going from bad to worst.

"A new wall paper on the computer!" Yaten said. He was trying to help out Seiya in a quick spin on a topic. He knew that Steve and Dusty were not welcomed if danger should pop up.

Dusty sighed as he gritted his teeth, "Great…let's see it!" He and Steve were just about to cave in when they heard a scream.

"Great…" both Yaten and Seiya thought. They were hoping to drag the other two in before there fighting started.

Strangely by cue, the world had stopped for just a minute. The monster had swung around to get a better look at Betty. Betty watched with large eyes a large beast which appertained like a tiger with black and grey fur. She felt her heart stopping out of fear.

"A blue plate special…" Seiya thought in the same way Rio's spoke at times

"If the girls would get it to before we do, then, they would end up like toast!" Yaten thought. He made a grab for Steve's arm. He said, "Look…gets inside. There are things we need to talk about…"

"Why?" Steve asked with a puzzled looked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you!" Yaten snapped. He back off just enough for Steve to get the message. There was something going on that shouldn't be happening. He sensed fear and evil coming at him like before at the basketball court. He was taken by surprised at the outbreak of the princes who wanted to take Serena away.

"He will not be here for long!" Seiya thought. He said, "Have you heard about Sailor moon?"

He stared at Steve and Dusty. Dusty believed that his newly founded friend ship with the teen idol had finally been starting to get a little wild. "Who?" Dusty asked.

"Sailor moon?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow. The two English boys glanced at each other for a second. Then, Steve came to the conclusion that he was hearing things. "Are you sure that you are not making stuff up?"

"No…" Yaten gasped, trying to put the sailor Senshi in an easy understandable format. Yaten and the others heard something coming from the distance. It was sounded like Hakura's voice calling out the evil to dispel it.

"WORLD SHAKING!" the voice screamed. Then, a large flash of light engulfed the monster-ish model-T. It was nearly done in by the power flash. It had to stand from with the all the evil power it was given.

Completely stunned with wide eyes, Steve and Dusty watched as the monster grew even larger. There was a distance scream coming from Salami who was still standing down the street. Steve managed to gasped, "What was that?"

"Evil…gets into the house!" Seiya began to order Steve and Dusty into his house for their own protection.

"What…where?" Dusty asked. He watched as Sailor Uranus landed near the corner of 6th and Union. He felt his heart start to beat a little faster. He could feel a pull between the bond he and Rio had shared. Was this a pull of power? He was not sure.

Steve had to try to remember where he saw her. He was surprised to see girl who was not afraid to stand her ground like she did. "Are you sure that she is willing to fight?" he asked Seiya.

"Yes. That's Sailor Uranus! She's very powerful!" Seiya said as he grabbed Steve by the arm. He started to pull Steve towards the house.

"Don't worry…she will protect us with help from the others in her group!" Yaten said as he watched as Dusty followed Steve and Seiya like a little child. He had to get the other two down the street to safety. It was going to be very messy.

"What are you going to do?" Taiki asked Yaten. He knew that he and Yaten couldn't transform in front of the house. It was going too led into trouble.

"We have to sit on our hands and wait!" he said with a concern look on his face.

Meanwhile, Galaxia was sitting front of a large glass mirror. She had a twisted smile on her face. Things were going good for her. She wanted to corner Sailor moon once and for all. It was just falling into place so nicely. She said, "Prince Diamond?"

"What is it, milady?" the white haired prince asked as he entered the room.

"Sailor moon is now caught in a cross fire situation!" she smiled as she stood up from the chair she was sitting on. She never could image in her wildest dreams that Sailor Moon was becoming so frightened at fighting her that the Moon Princess did not have the nerve to show up. She said as she turned to check prince Diamond's reaction, "she will not show up at this time for sure. She has no back bone after the last fight with you!"

Prince Diamond's face remained cool. He did not smile when he said, "She is tougher than you give her credit for. She has grown up quickly. You have got understand her. She has times where she had caved in, yet things in these past few months had changed her."

Feeling her curiously peeked, Galaxia slowly stood up from her chair. She turned her face a little to think what Prince diamond had spoke of. He knew Serena had been pushed into her adult self. She said, "Are you sure she had been growing into a strong fighter?"

"She had not back down the lasted time I have fought against her. She had still a weakness, yet she over comes it very quickly," he said as he walked over to where Galaxia was now standing. His face was no cold with his anger. He wanted Serena to bend to his will. Darien was just another road block in which he; Prince Diamond had to get rid of.

"What about the others?" she asked as she remembered, all the sailors had a weakness. She gave the mirror a deeper look.

"Just be patient. Each sailor has a weakness that will be uncovered veer carefully. I'm not in a rush to get them all."

She turned to give a sharp question at the Prince, "What about Tuxedo mask?"

He felt the sting of her question go right through him. He snarled softly as he turned his face away, "He's just a fool in my way!"

"And what about little pink haired rabbit. Do you have a thing for her?" she smiled slightly. She knew that Reenie had a large jolt of dark power thrown at her. The little pink haired girl was and could be used a barraging tool.

"Princess Reenie?" he asked. He wondered if she could be used once more. It could be worth his while.

"Why did you ask?" another voice questioned. It was tiger's eye who entered the room. He was busy being bored. He was hoping to get a cut in the action. He was a little disappointed to hear who was given the command of the lasted assault.

"Ah…are we jealous of someone else's getting the glory!" Galaxia asked. She knew her next move was going include Tiger's eye.

Then, there was a brilliant beam of light which came out of nowhere. All eyes were fixed on the light coming from two sources. Sailor moon and Sailor Acarida were standing on the curb near where Reenie were standing at. Reenie said to Sailor moon, "Watch out...these one is a tough one!"

"It's going to be hard...but remember we are sailors and we have been in tougher fights before!" sailor moon reassured her future daughter. There was a bright spot of anger in sailor moon's eyes. She knew Sailor Acarida had friends who were dear to her.

"That's right... you have to learn how to crawl before you run!" sailor Acardia spoke in a firm tone.

The car had instantly changed into a monster in which the sailor senshi had fought before. It was strange to be fighting something from the past. Was this an idea of testing how far sailor moon had grown in her fighting abilities? She had to remember who she and the pothers had fought this car. There were a number of short comings including the number of sailors.

"This is my past coming back to pull one over on us!" she thought.

"Come…on…this one is so easy," Prince Diamond said as he watched her in mirror.

"Don't let your guard down…" Sailor Moon said. She knew that Sailor Acarida was shaken up from her loss. She was going to help Rio get over it very quickly.

Sailor Acarida looked at her friend and said, "You too, mate!"

Sailor moon wondered if Sailor Uranus could attack the monster for just a minute. She had an idea to wear this beastie out. She had to think on how to use her silver moon power. It was very strong the last time she had used it. There was a fear of using it on just normal people. Yet, this was not a normal creature. This was a monster.

"Sailor moon…I'm glad that you are here!" Jadeite said as he entered the sense in a cloud of smoke.

"Jadeite!" her lip was curled in a slight snarl. She knew he had been powering up from the help of a certain leader. There was no way queen beryl could give Jadeite power like he used with Galaxia. "Please leave us in peace…that's what we all want!"

He was going straight for the heart of the matter. He raised his left hand into a fist. He loudly growled, "Never!"

"What are you going to do?" Sailor moon thought to her. She noticed Sailor Acarida gearing for her attack. She had to do something. She ordered to Sailor Acarida to use her Harpy yell.

"If it's going to work…then, I'll do it!" Sailor Acarida said. She glanced at sailor moon with a determined look on her face. She raised her left wrist and said, "You leave her alone!"

"Who…" he smirked as he began to walk towards the two who were standing now at edge of the street. "Miss Roberts!"

"You have interfered in our lives for the last time…" sailor moon cried out. She was going to give the cleansing of Jadeite's life. She knew it was a tall order to fill in, but she was the one to do it.

"Oh, still holding a grudge!" he chided. He was going to get a hold of Sailor moon. All the pure power in her heart was going to be used for all evil.

"In a way..." she said. She looked bitter at her oldest monster who had no idea how she had griffon in her power. She had kept her mind together. The last few battles were just mere testing points to see if she could be twisted to the dark side. "I just wish you could just leave…"

"There is a grudge and it's a big one!" Rubues said as he popped out of the blue. He was now standing where Sailor Uranus was. He was going to break the chain of sailor's power starting from the strongest. He threw a pooch at her back. She was instantly caught off guard. She felt the blow coming-out of the blue that she had barely enough time to catch her breath.

"Smart move…" Jadeite smiled with a twisted leer. He knew every step was going to be a good move on their part to getting the Silver Moon Crystal. He and Rebus was not going to expect what was going to happen next.

"This is the end for you lot!" sailor Acarida cried out. She hoped that Alex, Vachon and Nick were O.K. they were still being brainwashed by Galaxia's evil powers. She had to find them. In her heart, Rio wanted to have a normal life for all people. She and Serena were both in agree, a normal life was nice. "In the name of the seven winds of the planet where dreams have been kept," she began to say.

"Silent!" jadeite ordered. Then, he waved his hand and sent Sailor Acarida crashing towards a tree.

She could feel the pain breaking her to the edge. She was nearly conscience as she quickly landed on the ground. The others watched in horror.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" a voice called out in order to protect Sailor Acarida from a second attack.

"Sailor Mercury!" Sailor moon gasped in relief. She realized the others were comimg.

"How is she?" Sailor Jupiter asked as she came running towards Sailor Acarida.

"She is still awake!" Sailor Mercury said as she checks her mini-computer. She was quickly running towards the battle ground.

Sailor Acarida tried to raise herself off the ground with the use of her elbows. She feels very muscle ache. She glanced at Sailor Jupiter who came to her aide. "Talk…'bout the wind knocked out of ya!" she gasped in aguish.

"Keep still!" Sailor Mercury ordered in her gently way. She noticed nothing broken. She had a feeling Jadeite was getting more than just a power boost. This was a full flagged up grade.

"I'm not going to let some creep keep from stopping me!" Sailor Acarida. She was about to sit up when she felt something make a grab for her left ankle. She let out a yelp. It was fast, all she could do was scream for help. She was now hanging upside down by the ankle. She looked around so wildly she could not make who to be held her.

"No way…" Sailor Jupiter gasped.

"Put her down…" Sailor Mercury pleaded.

A man appeared out of thin air. He was not like any other man the sailor Senshi had noticed. This was a man only Sasami knew. It was hotsuma who had Sailor Acarida by the ankle.

"Quick move!" Jadeite said.

"Don't hurt her too much!" Prince Diamond requested in a gentle tone.

"What a pretty child…you are…" Hotsuma said as he felt her struggling in his hand.

"LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER!" sailor Acarida screamed. She tried to move in a swinging action.

Hotsuma felt her move. He was going to teacher a lesson about manors in a quick and painful way. On squeezing her ankle, he smeared darkly, "Listen little girl…I'm going to give the orders to you for now on!"

"Come on and fight me instead you washed out has been!" a voice said.

Sasami noticed Ryoko sitting in a tree. She had a habit of leaving the house when there was too much housework to be done. She heard the noises from on the ground. At first she was going to not pay attention to them. Yet, when she saw what was unfolding right in front of her, Ryoko had to fight. She wondered in her mind, why Hotsuma showed up there at a strange time.

"Don't call me that…" he barked out. He glared up at the tree for just a minute. "Ryoko…why do you have to be a pain!"

With all of her might, Sailor Acarida swung herself towards Hotsuma's ankles. She was going to make a grab for his ankles. She hoped that she could at least fight a little street style. Hotsuma was going to the squeeze on her when he felt her move. She winced at the pain.

"Stop it…now…Hotsuma…you don't even know her!" Ryoko chided in her annoying way.

"Oh..Be quiet!" Hotsuma snapped as he waved his hand at her.

Ryoko felt a force throwing her off the tree. She landed, knocking the wind out of her on the ground.

Sasami screamed out of shock, "RYOKO!"

"Love chain encircle!" another voice called out. Sailor Venus stood at wall near the turn off of Union. She had a feeling something was not right when she noticed Sailor Moon was caught in a corner. Her chain instantly caught Hotsuma by the neck. She screamed in anger, "THIS IS NOT A BATTLE FOR NEWBIES!"

"Oh…are you just learning on how to be graceful in your anger!" Hotsuma said before giving a jolt to Sailor Venus.

She let out a yelp as she dropped her chain. It instantly vanished into the air. She gasped as she checked her hands. The pain danced wildly on the palms. She got a good jolt of whatever he threw at her. She said, "That creep. He is playing very rough."

"That's it!" Sailor moon huffed. She did not want to show any feelings towards evil. The tears in her eyes were hot and stinging as hate rolled down the face. She held out her Eternal tiara. She was going to give evil a good scare. She raised hands to call forth the Eternal tiara. It instantly appeared out of thin air. She said, "Honey Therapy Kiss!"

"No way, this little girl is going to get off that easy!" Hotsuma groaned.

"You want to bet!" Sailor Acarida said. Then, she swung with all of her might towards Hotsuma's belly. She was going to punch him hard. She gave an iron left hook to his thigh. He instantly let go of her with a great deal of pain racing up towards his stomach. There was something to be said about living on the East end of London. It made even the sweetest, soft spoken girl into a rough and tumble fighter. Rio never backed down in a corner.

"Why you little witch!" he hissed as he watched her fall to the ground.

Her heart ached as it beat hard. She glared at him when she scrabbled to the other side of him. She said, "Listen hear, you monster…I grew up in the east end of life. There is no doubt in my mind…that we will win!"

"You will bend to our will!" Jadeite snarled. He had an ace up his sleeve. He knew sailor moon had a many chinks in her armor.

"Nothing doing!" Sailor Jupiter howled. She raised her hand in an attack. She called forth, "OAK EVOLUTION!"

She sent it flying towards Jadeite. With a loud explosion, Jadeite was engulfed in a huge ball of lighting. She wanted to smile so badly after the attack. Yet, she held herself back as she remembered how many times her attacks just weakened a monster. She wanted to be sure this time.

As the smoke cleared, they were surprised to see Jadeite still standing, but badly shaken. He was not ready for the attack. This was full power Sailor Jupiter was using.

"What the…" Jadeite coughed. The pain knifed him all over his body. He had to fight back.

"He's still standing!" Sailor Venus gasped in anger. She was going to wait just for little while to let Sailor Moon uses the big guns.

As Sailor moon used her powers to get Miss Roberts out of the line. She hoped that Miss Roberts was not going a monster. She watched as the monster changed back into a car. It felt too simple of a trick. Was this was going to be a weakening of the sailor Senshi.

"Come on…" Sailor Moon huffed. She felt anger at the outcome. Yet, Ryoko was a big help so far. It was like they were being pulled in all different discretions. Trying to pull everything back together was a hard task ahead. "I'm tired of this!"

"Once again…I have an idea!" Sailor Uranus spoke up. She wondered if there was a way of using her space sword as a diving rod. She was going to push sailor moon into this battle kicking and screaming. She had to give Sailor moon a boast into being an adult. "And doesn't whim out on me…Moon face!"

"What?" sailor moon gasped a little annoyed. She weans going to clean up the evil and make Sailor Uranus eat her words. "Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" she chanted as she raised her wand.

While Sailor Moon was channeling all of her powers into her attack, Sailor Uranus raised her sword. She could feel her powers coming to a mighty surge. She said, "Space sword!"

"Attack!" the two sailors said in a harmony. The power of the attack could be felt within a fifty year area. The attack was going to knock the monster out. It also spilt out into a shower of light beams striking the evil down.

"What the…" Jadeite gasped as he felt the power of the sailor Senshi in full action.

"That is one-tenth of her powers!" prince Diamond goaded before he disappeared. He knew that if all the Senshi placed their powers into one final attack, it would not drain them to the brink…it would wipe out Galaxia for good.

The monster instantly changed back into a car. Kagao wondered about Sailor moon. She had power he had to figure out where it was coming from. She was born that way or did it come to her when she was growing up. "She will be a tough nut to crack!" he thought as he watched as Sailor moon gave her final attack.

"Mars flame shooter!" Sailor mars added to her powers.

"Oak Revelation!" Sailor Jupiter gave her powers as well.

Sailors Venus and mercury added their powers, but it seemed it was not enough. Then, Sailor Acarida stood up slowly. She gave Kagao a good shove. He backed off quickly. A voice rang in his mind. It sounded like Galaxia,"You…baka-san…leave!"

"Dream…awakening…" Sailor Acarida said as she pointed a hand towards Kagao and the second hand towards the monster car. A large rose colored light mixed it not a pool of the tethers light beams. The power of Senshi seemed to increase with Sailor Acardia's light. In a heartbeat, everything was cleansed. Evil had been sent back. It seemed too easy again. It felt like a set up for Sailor moon to win so easily.

Sailor moon nearly fell to the ground from the power surge. She felt totally drained from her battle. She said, "Is everyone all right!"

"Just a little bruised, but we will be all the better when the time comes!" Sailor Acarida said. She remembered catching a glimpse of Kagao as he disappeared from her sight. She wondered if he was real or was he just another mind probe from her missing past.

"Ryoko…" Sasami called out.

Ryoko glanced at upon Sasami and skuld running towards her. She said, "I'm glad that did not hurt in the cross fire!"

"Who was that?" Sailor moon said as she noticed Betty lying on the ground. She wondered if Betty was going to wake up with any memories of the battle.

"I'm not sure…" Sailor Mercury said when she walked over to see of Miss Robert needed any help. She helped Sailor Acarida to get on her feet again. She had a strange feeling of dread. She glanced at Renee. Reenie and Hotura could be taken back to Galaxia at any time. Then, things could go from bad to worst. With the powers of the dark forces unleashing the two evil creatures inside of the two innocent girls, it would pose as a huge problem.

Ryoko glanced over to see Sailors Acarida and Jupiter checking over the battle grounds. She asked, "Are you guys O.K."

"Yea…" Sailor Jupiter said with a sour look. She knew the Dark kingdom was backing Sailor moon into corner. This was just toying with her and the rest. Her eyes narrowed a little when she glanced at the empty car with a stunned Betty Roberts who was standing next to it. Somehow the monster had force Betty out. She was lying on the ground, in a semi-conscious state. Her star seed was being drained while she was still in the car. Now she was being helped by Sailor Venus to her feet.

The battle was going to take a few twists to the darker realm before Sailor moon would see she transform to the last leg of her power.

Bell dandy watched as the rain came down the window. She sat on the bench in the kitchen. She was a little sad to see the day turn so quickly from blue to grey. She was hoping to go for a walk down the street. She had heard about a field at the end of the road from her house. She wanted to go and see it. She could stand for a long walk. Her mind needed clearing. The past events were a testing ground for her and her sisters. Yet, Keiichi was still in his self denial state at times. He wanted to get through classes as fast as he could. A summer break was just what he wanted to have. There was work around the house needed to be done. Plus there was a part-time job at a local garage was just waiting for him.

"It's still raining!" urn sighed. She looked out of the window at the sink. She was getting a drink of water from the sink. She noticed her little sister sitting at the window. She wondered if Bell was O.K. while she waited for K to come back.

"Uh?" Bell dandy asked with slight turn of her face towards the sink. She was a little surprise to see Urd standing at the sink. She had to ask about her sister standing at the sink. She knew the last battle between the forces of good and evil. She had heard her little sister Skuld talk about it non-stop. It was like she wanted to be a sailor Senshi instead of a goddess. "I'm sorry…I was lost in my thoughts…that's all!" she blushed.

"That's O.K." urd looked for a drinking glass on the counter. She did want to open a cupboard and hunt for a glass. She could understand about Bell dandy's idea of being lost. She was lost in her thoughts when she had nearly lost her sister countless times. Why should this be any diffident? The thing of it was she was losing her sister to a man. She knew that Bell was going to leave one day trod the outside world. She cajoled not stop her.

"I was hoping to get outdoors for a little while. There is so much weed pulling in the garden that I think it will take all of us in the house to do it!" Bell blushed a little. She loved to be outside with nature. She had a power that healed the earth and brought forth the light of a new life.

"Oh…goodie!" Urd winced. She did not like getting her hands dirty with normal acuities. She was into making things with her cymbal. Her idea of a good time was making love charms and making Skuld suffer just little if skuld should stick herself when it was not wanted. "Is there something else besides getting all muddy with all that planting!" she begged a little teasingly.

"Oh Urd!" she shot her older sister a sour stare. She always thought of her sisters as more than just sisters, she believed in their own personalities.

"O.K. O.K. I'll help!" Urd sighed. She had a feeling a net was going to fall on her any minute. She wanted to back away from her sister just for a second. There was something called regrouping of a person's thought ran in her mind.

"Thanks Urd!" she smiled.

"Hey…Urd!" Skuld shouted into the kitchen. She stood in the hallway, phone in hand.

"I can hear you, Skuld," urd said. She noticed her little sister being a brat as she answered the phone. "Thank goodness for cordless phones!" she shook her head.

"What else do you think we should do…with the weather being very nice I thought I wanted to have supper outside!" Bell dandy said.

"Oh?" Urd said with a goofy look on her face. She had to play along with her sister just to make Bell dandy happy. She thought of the many days spent back home in Tokyo with her sisters and Keichii. She missed it terrible. Yet, she had made new friends in Salem. She did realize how luck she was. "Let me take this call."

"Yes…" Bell dandy smiled a little. Pushing any ideas on urd was not like Bell dandy's system. She was quiet and gently. She knew when to back off when Urd was having a bad day. She feels if she and the others would be outside, then things could be to be normal once again. She had run-ins with both Mara and Peorth. She knew God was just testing her faith in him and herself. She watched as urd walked over to where Skuld was standing.

The oldest goddess took the phone. She wondered who could be calling at this time in the afternoon. She said, "Hello?"

"Miss Urd?" a voice female voice said over the phone. A few background noises of people talking and moving around could be heard. "It's me…Washu!"

"Oh…hello, Miss Washu!" Urd said after a minute of trying to realize who was at the other end. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing much…I just wanted to know if you had some time off."

"Sure…" she sounded a little surprised. She tried to remember when she had a day off. There were no more classes at the high school. She did not place her name in the summer school teacher's pool. She basically had a whole summer to just relax. She said, 'I have Friday free…why?"

"I want to see you about something going on in town!' Washu said as she looked out the door. She was in the back door leading to a small backward. She was taking a break from her forgotten experiences in time and placement of the stars. Things were going from normal in her view point to strange. The idea of Kagato hooking with another person outside of yugi's little band of persons made Washu stop and cringe. The slight changes in the time flux as people twisted power to their own idea of a perfect world could lead into distaste.

"I'm not sure…I have not checked out anything in this past week. I have been busy with fin signing up things!" urd said. She felt comfortable as she stared at Skuld. Skuld was going to be a pain by starting back at ether. Urd began to wave her left hand away in a weak attempt in shooing her little sister away from her.

Skuld was not buying it. She was going to leave anyway. She had a sour look on her face as she turned. "Why do I even bother with you!" she gambled.

"Brat!" urd hissed as her eyes narrowed. She whipped around to glare at the clock. "Sure…I'll be over if you want me to."

Bell dandy did want to start anteing without her sisters.

Then, urd said her goodbyes to Washu and walked over to hang up there phone. She told Bell dandy that she was going to be out for a while. She was going to check out what was happening down town. She had to do something to keep her mind from slipping away. She wanted to be back in home, yet she did have some good times with her friends.

Washu and Urd were at the Cherry-pickers, coffee house. They were sitting on a couple of bar stools at facing the window. There was no traffic on Penn Ave. They searched a large pot of green tea and a few cookies. It was after the lunch rush crowds had left the coffee house. The quiet was a nice addition to the tea. Washu and urd had to get together about the darkness which was starting to ever shadow their lives. "What I don't get is how one or two people could be that evil!" Washu said.

She had to stop and think about what her terms were on evil. She wow the greatest sciences in the galaxy had dreamed up many different devices of mass dictation.

"It's just normal for humans to get caught up with themselves and their ever wants for one thing…" Urd said when she picked up her cup. She took a sip, glancing out the window. She watched as a bird made its way to sidewalk from hopping around on the street.

Washu was curious with her statement, "Could that be power?"

She placed her cup on a saucer, "yes…there is money, sex and many different things that could drive a person up a wall!"

"And the idea of being a person who doesn't care how or what cost of being a ruthless creature as long as they could pull it off!" Washu said as she gave Urd a skeptical eye.

"Humans are a strange lot. They are always trying to get ahead in life. Some just wanted to life without fear. There are others who put the fear into those one who don't."

"Why do it anyways!" Washu asked with a concerned look on her face. She noticed a couple of girls walking up the street. It was clear who they were. Hotura and Reenie were walking down the street from the post office.

Then, two other girls who were following along a few steps behind. It was Reid and Ami. They were mailing off some letters back home. They had to figure out how to say they were O.K. without causing a stir.

They were walking up with really a care in the world for the present. The fresh air was doing them a world of good.

Washu looked up at the four girls as they walk past. "They have no idea what is going to happen to them!"

"What makes you say that?" Urd asked with a slight reuse of the eye brow.

"They are still children…to compare to us…they have no idea what they could use themselves in a very danger situation if it did happen!"

"Given danger, I think those four could be pushed into a fighting corner!" Urd smiled.

It rained so hard that Jamie felt like not leaving the comfort of the flat. He hated rain like this. What did he grandma said, "It the rain that makes me bones aches!"

"Make me bones ache!" Jamie repeated the phrase to himself as he stared out the living room window. He had smiled just a bit as he reflected hard on London. He missed home and the rush of the city. He had to figure out on calling his family some time soon. He wanted to know if his granny was doing good or not.

"I have to get a brally for this!" Tinny said as he checked the coat closet for his. He opened the closet door and tried to find it.

"Are you going to be back for supper?" Jamie asked. He gave Tinny a glance. He knew that Tinny got a job at a local tire shop down the street from the house that they were renting.

Tinny loved working on cars even American cars. He had to get ready for the real world if even meant getting his hands dirty. "No, I'll have to pack in a few…" Tinny said as he glanced at his watch. He knew it he had some time left to pack something to eat for supper.

"And life goes on!" Jamie sighed, rolling his eyes towards the door. He knew that tinny had a full plate with both school and work. He tired to help out his friend as best as he could with the homework. He had still finished his own work and has time with Charlie (Charlotte) his girlfriend. He told Tinny to call home if he needed anything.

"Yea…mate…I need something printed out on the computer," tinny said. He wanted to take some summer courses to keep his grades up. He had an English report to finish out. He darted to the kitchen to see if there was any food that could be not wrapped up in a box. Grabbing an apple, Tinny said, "It's on the hard drive."

"When do you want it done?" Jamie asked with sour look on his face. He was hoping to have a night off from there rest of the world!

"Not until tomorrow. I have still some editing to do," tinny said. He knew that Jamie was going to leave him to do his own work when he gets back.

"How about school, you have to be art classes on ten at least. You cannot be slacking off!" Jamie warned. His green eyes cooled down to a warning. He did want Tinny to finish out on top.

He knew Jamie was looking out for him as he smiled back. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he said, "don't worry about it mate. I'll be fine with it."

"You think?" Jamie snorted cautiously. He breathed slowly to let his mind take in everything about this day. He and tinny worked around the flat. Jamie took off for his job at a local movie rental place. It was his half day. He knew that Jamie was hard at work with his studies. He was going to help out a friend who was there for him in the past. "One day you will have to thank me on the extra work that I had to do!"

"Sure…" tinny shrugged. He double checked his sack before heading towards the door. He gave the place a once over with his eyes. Everything including Jamie was normally where they were supposed to be. "Off to work…I hope the guys had fixed Mister Johnson's car!"

"Who knows?" Jamie said, watching his friend walk out the door. It seemed like he could be watching his firmed leave for the last time. He stopped himself from calling out in order to stop Tinny. He had bad feeling in the put of his stomach.

Tinny went down the stairs with his lunch bag in hand. He had seen a green car pull up at the stop sign. It was very plain to the eye were there was brown grass; it was turning a little green. Tinny looked at the car. It was just a plain looking car. He had heard about Betty having the life scared out of her when the car she was in turned into a monster. He still could not get through his mind on what had just happened to her. He looked down at the street. It had rained early in the day to the point of making the grass peeking out from the cracks greener. It had been long for the light to change. Tinny began to walk across the street in a slow way. He wanted to be sure he was going to be safe.

Inside the car, the driver watched Tinny. He knew tinny was busy with his own little world to be really paying attention to the car. The person who drove the car was none other than jadeite. He was on the hunt for the purest of star seeds. This was a direct order from Galaxia herself.

Tinny just could do down the street before hitting the middle to cross over to the other side. He wanted to get to work on time. Jadeite tired to figure out if Tinny was going to just stand still for just a minute. He wanted to test the purity of the star seed.

Jadeite decided to drive around until he had spotted Tinny. It was just a simple game of cat and mouse. It had to be a sport this victim of unseen powers. Tinny crossed the street as he heard the buzzing of the wind in the tree tops. He had a feeling that he was being watched for one reason or another. "Why," he thought.

He gave a quick glance over his left shoulder before turning back. He could not stop for any reason. He did not want to be late for work.

Jadeite was going to feel like he was going to hit another dead end. He also noticed a shocking trying from the corner of his eye. It was two sailor sensei walking up the street. Mina and Ami were coming from the Salem historical society. They were given a private tour of the building by one of the locals. It was very different because Ami had a ton of questions about Salem. Mina went with Ami to see if she could spot any fashions that would appeal to her.

Mina and Ami were taking a break from all the fighting. They were release on their plans. They wanted to stick it out until they reached home.

He looked at the two. He needs to get power one way or another.

Ami smiled as glanced over to where Tinny was. She said, "Hi…"

"This was truly meaningless for the sailor scouts to be so kind!" Jadeite thought.

The two girls looked around for a spot to cross. It seemed like an odd twist when their eyes met up with Jadeite's car. "There is a glitch in the system!" Jadeite thought.

His hands were tightly bound to the steering wheel. He was most upset with the outcome. He had to remain cool! What was going on with this outcome? He wondered if he had been spotted by Ami and Mina. He was going to get this job done quietly. He knew Ami and Mina were still learning about their new powers.

What are you thinking about?" a voice asked in Jadeite's mind.

Ami wondered who was driving the car. She had a feeling in her miond of someone who shouldn't been there. She said to Mina, "do you see that car?"

Mina glanced at Ami to ask, "Which one?"

"That grey one over there!" Ami nodded at the car coming towards them.

"That one?" Mina questioned her. She glanced at the driver's side. Jadeite was in disguise.

"It's nice…" Ami said as she waited for the traffic to thin out.

"Maybe…if you like that shade of grey!" Mina shrugged.

Jadeite sighed as he watched as the two girls walked up the street. They noticed Tinny going down the street. The pain of someone breaking into his mound was an annoy with him. He knew Lady Galaxia was looking him up.

He said to himself, "I will look for the star seeds…just give me time!"

He knew that if he caught one of the sailors, then his standing with galaxia would be a few pegs up from before.

"Hi…Tinny!" Ami called out. Ami noticed Tinny as he crossed the street.

He looked up at the girls and smiled he waved back at the girls. He wondered why mina and Ami were out. Then, he stopped to cross the street. As he stepped onto the street from the curb, he felt a surge of power, dark and evil ripping him from the inside out. Letting out a scream of fear, Tinny jolted back so fast, he had no time to get his breath.

Rei and Ami watched in a surprised horror. Mina said, "Not again!"

"This is has got to stop!" Ami agreed.

"We have to transform…but where!" Mina asked as she noticed there was really no place in the parking lot of the restoration and hotel called the Timberlines to transform.

"Flame sniper!" a vice called out. It was sailor Mars who caused a large circle of fire which danced around Tinny's body.

"Don't hurt him"! Mina asked.

"I promise I wouldn't…" sailor Mars said as she took out a paper scroll from her glove. She raised it into the air as she began o chant. She hoped that the monster who was trying to get into Tiny was halted.

"What's going on?" Sailor Saturn asked. She and Mars were going to help out. Sailor mars had a feeling about this turn of events. She had to get a hold of Mina and Ami. There was no possible time if they were trapped into a situation which they saw themselves in.

"I'm not sure…" Ami said as she wanted to use her minicomputer.

"I have a feeling!" Sailor Mars huffed, scanning around the area for a signs of Nega-moon creeps.

Mina had a feeling as well. She helped to search the area. She spotted a car that had been moving very cautionary. She knew the Black Moon family was on the prowl. She said, "I had no idea they would stoop that low!"

"It seems like they were going to be playing tag with us…" aim said. She did not want to admit that they were in a corner.

"That's just wrong!" Sailor Mars huffed. Then, she raised her hand to stop the fire! It quickly died out.

"And they have to get a hold of another innocent bystander," Mina said as she balled a hand into a fist. She was growing upset with every time the dark moon kingdom was eating up power and for what.

"What if they were getting ready for something?" Saturn asked as she felt something inside of her mind starting to bug her. She had the same feeling from before. She knew her father and the sovereign of silence used her as a tool to open a link to let in Pharaoh 90 in.

Tinny stared all around to see nothing was burnt on his body. He was happy and stunned. What was going on right now? There was a powerful hit of light, then a crazy fire which came out of nowhere. He had to get to work in quickly and tell his friends. He gasped as he looked the girls who were standing at opposite end of the street. 

"Who are you…" he wondered in a surprised look.

"We are the fighters for love and Justice!" sailor Mars said after she turned to look at Tinny in the face. Her smile was a sad and longing vision of what was about to come for the rest of the world. She did not want that to repeat itself once ago an.

"And we are called the sailor scouts!" Sailor Saturn added.

Then, if by an unseen call the three sailor scouts were pinned to an unseen wall. Jadeite was going to have some fun one way or another.

Sailor Mars was not going to take all this playing around. She had been saving lives for some time. Now she had to save her own life once again. She was trying to keep her life pretty much normal. She had grown tired of being a warrior. It seemed like she was turning into another Serena. She wanted to go back home and be normal. She knew there was no normal for any sailor scout. She had to fight.

"What are you thinking of?" she thought to herself. She turned to stare at herself on the reflection of the mirrored glass that was part of a window in a hotel.

"You are nothing!" a voice hummed her mind.

Sailor mars stopped her-self from thinking too hard. It was going to be like an unspoken cue if she thought of doing it again.

"You are nothing!" the voice teased her again. This time it was going to be pushing her mental levels in her soul.

"I'm not going to listen to you!" Sailor Mars huffed in her mind. She knew that jealously was a great green-eyed monster. She was going to stand firm to her own beliefs. She had to be strong to be a great sailor sensei.

"Are you willing to receive more power?" the voice asked, nearly begging.

"Uh?" Sailor Mars felt tricked. She looked around to see who was talking to her. She had to stop and think. "More power?"

"Yes. Beyond all of your powers lies a great power!" the voice was trying to coax her into a false sense of reality.

"If I lintel to this…then, I'm going to fall!" Sailor Mars knew it was a trick. It sounded too good to be true.

"Don't…its sounds like my father…" Hotura said with a wearily glance. She knew her father was up to no good. He was going to have his old way of taking over the world. The old monster in which had used her as a tool had been reborn as Shiuchi Tomeo had fallen ill to an mysterious viral brought forth from Galaxia herself.

"Did you read my mind?" Sailor Mars asked as she glanced at her friend.

"I can tell...my father had been haunting me in my dreams. It seems like Galaxia had been stepping up in her powers!"

"Let's take out pretty boy over there…" Sailor Mars asked as Mina and Ami tried to find a place to transform.

"Tag team?" Sailor Saturn asked. She wondered if it was good idea or not.

"What is he thinking?" Sailor Mars asked, noticing the fact that Jadeite had not even moved once.

Then, Jadeite opened the car door. He knew a mind probe was being used. He had a feeling Kagato was just the right spice to add at this very minute of battle. With the idea of bring two dark forces together was too sweet of an idea to pass up. He thought, "Thanks…you got these two little girls on the run!"

"I think this is not good by us!" Sailor Mars said as she could sense a black cloud wrapping itself around Jadeite.

"Venus….love chain encircle!" a voice cried out. Leaping into his air was Sailors Venus and Mercury. They landed so carefully on either side of Sailors Mars and Saturn. it was a complete surprise.

It nearly encircled jadeite's right leg. He felt the power of Sailor Venus's straight. He snapped, "What are you doing?"

"I'm a sailor for Love and peace!" she said with a great deal of pride in her v0ice.

"More like a little pest!" he chided. He was going to be a pain to her one or another. He tried to lift his leg as he attempt to get out of the car.

"What did you just say?" Sailor Venus huffed. Her eyes narrowed darkly. She knew he was going to get her goat.

"Wait…" Sailor Struan said. She had a feeling this was going to lead into a large mess. She had no idea she was on the right track. She had to stop the others before they were leaded down a very dangerously steep slope. She turned to look at her friend, "…he is going to get you to break out the most out of you in order to break you down!"

"No…we go back a long time!" Sailor mars said as she remembered how many times jadeite had taunted the others. "You were not around when he was the first general of Queen Beryl's army!"

"Uh?" the purple eyed girl gasped. She heard the stories, but never realized how long lived the grudge was between the two kingdoms. She had a feeling there was more than what the inners were telling the outers. Even Sailor Acardia was having a hard time getting her mind around why Serena did not feel like opening up to her. "Why…" she began to say.

She was interrupted by Sailor Mars with a sharp, "We don't have time for this!"

"Are you telling me that the Sailor girl who had fought for love and justice is back down?" the voice hissed.

"I am not like some toy that needs to be played around with" Sailor Mars thought to herself. She had a feeling she was going to break if the voice would not stop.

"Are you telling me that I'm not telling you the truth?"

There was a bit of hesitation on Sailor Mars. Was she going to fight or not? The choice was up to her.

Sailor Venus said with a great deal of agony, "He's breaking free. I can't hold him for long!"

The choice was going to be very quick. Jadeite said as he taunted them, "Look at the little Sailor babies. They need to do away with all the love and justice!"

"No…way!" a voice barked out.

"And will not see another monster being made by his evil hands!" a second voice added.

There standing at the other corner of the street stood Sailor Moon and Sailor Star-fighter. Sailor moon and sailor star-fighter were going to put an end to jadeite and reform him one way or another. Sailor Mars looked one of her oldest friends and blanched. She knew if she had back down a few minutes earlier then, the moon kingdom would crumble.

"And we will be by your side when ever things get rough!" Sailor Star-fighter said as a small smile.

"Are you sure?" Sailor Mars said. It was the first time Sailor Mars, Rei Hino had a great deal of doubt in her soul. She knew there was friction between her and Serena. Yet, they had always managed to smooth it out in the end. She had always realized on herself to get through the bad times when they seemed hopeless. Now, so far from home, what will Rei do., she knew she had friends, but no family in Salem. No one to really call on the outside of her own friends which she could turn to.

"Yes…I'm very sure!" Sailor moon smiled. She knew Rei was starting grow up and become the woman that even her grandpa would be proud of. "Don't be ever afraid to face the doubt on your heart."

She gave Sailor Moon a curious stare. "What is she saying? I'm really going to have doubt." She wanted to chide Sailor moon for being so lame in her sentences. She had to stop herself from noting the obvious. She had to trust in Sailor moon. Then, she said, "I will let you go on with the final attack," she said, giving her head a slight jerk, "but, if you screw up…then, I'll have a hard time in forgiving you!"

"You always say that…" Sailor moon huffed back. Then, the old feeling of trying to not fight with Rei was starting eat at her.

Sailor mars narrowed her eyes in fearful protest. "Please…do this for us…" she begged. She bit her lower lip for a just a second.

"In the name of the moon…I will!" Sailor moon said as she called forth her Rainbow Moon calcie. A small red and gold heart and crown appeared out of nowhere. As she drew back her right hand, a long rod appeared. She said, "This is your last chance…"

Jadeite now standing, glared at his oldest enemy. His sore spot in his mind was starting to ache. He wanted to end everything which was contacted to Sailor Moon. He hated her with his whole heart. There was no way of getting around her and her little band of sailor babies. She had grown up to a less likely to start crying and put up a brave fight. "Let's see you try."

"You're on…" she growled. Her powers were peaking to the maximum. She had the Rainbow Moon Calcie in her left hand. She spun to her left, and then she quickly turned to her right. Then, she faced Jadeite with grim determination. Finally, she called out, "Silver Moonlight Kiss!"

"No way…are you going to do me in!" he groused. His smirk had deepened just a hair for personally reasons. Then he raised his hands up to protect himself from the blast. He knew she had new powers and he was not fully ready for them.

"Now…give us back Nick, Vachon and Alex!" she ordered jadeite. Then, her eyes glared even more with anger. Something inside of her was starting to ache with a tiny bit of darkness. Was it all the year of fighting the nega-moon peoples that she had finally had a taste of something new? It was going to be a new test of herself.

"You want to bet!" jadeite chided before he was hit with the blast. He felt overwhelming warmth in which he never had felt previously. He wondered about how the Sailor Senshi had been always kind and so gentle. It was a quality that he had never thought about until now.

"The Moon princess will not success!" Galaxia growled loudly in Jadeite's mind.

"I'm going to success now when I had failed other times," he thought. He had a contraction to Galaxia with his mind. He knew how to keep his mind clear as he fought. There was only one small problem. He was growing nervous with this battle.

"I'm not having this war rage on. I want to be a normal teen…have normal problems, even here!" Sailor moon thought to her. She let her anger and pity dance so quickly, she nearly became blinded.

Tinny was now free to run and hide. The feeling of complete surprise and shock to see what had just witnessed was truly an eye-opening event. It seemed like the monster-like attack was weakened enough for him to break-free. He was still a little weakened at the energy drain on his mind, but he was able to move.

He started to trot down the street in a slow pace. The pain from the energy drain was too much. He looked at the battle unfolding one last time before turning back to cross the street. He said, "I have a feeling about a strong storm coming!"

Then, he inched across the street with the feeling about the world changing very quickly.

In the mean time, Jadeite was now thinking about the pain he had caused on others as he and the three Generals of the Nega-verse roamed the earth in search for the silver moon crystal. It seemed pretty pointless to want so much power. Then, he thought of the Sailors themselves. They were mere children playing in the adult world. Was the White moon kingdom using the innocence of these young girls? He had to stop himself from thinking of that.

"There is no way...I'm backing down. There is too much to be thinking of!" Jadeite said to himself as he glared at Sailor moon. Then, there was break in jadeite's soul.

What was this feeling of compassion? He never in his life had it. It was breaking him down for the first time. He knew it was a trick from sailor moon. Was she bending him to her will? He had to break free in order to capture her for Galaxia.

"Why does this power weaken?" he thought. This was not a mere little girl who did not know how to use her powers. This was a very strong willed woman who wanted to protect her friends and family.

"I am use to help you see how you can change!" she said with an extremely sad look in her eyes.

Was there a way of backing down from this new power of hope, love and peace? All that Jadeite knew was hate, pain and anger. He knew there was no way of breaking from Sailor moon's love of people.

"What can I do?" he thought as he gazed so very bitterly at her.

"You can be a good person!" she smiled with a heart of innocence.

"Yet...there is more to me than you could ever dream of!" Jadeite howled. He felt like his heart was going to burst. It was the pain of the evil trying to leave his body. There was no way he was going to be controlled by goodness and kindness. He was going to destroy Sailor moon.

"And why are you wanting to hurt yourself!" she asked. Sailor moon felt the pain pouring out of Jadeite's mind, body and soul. She knew he was mistreated.

"I had enough of this…" he snapped. He knew he was starting to think for himself. His bitterness was starting to break away from him.

"And you will…your heart is going to be in a better mood," Sailor moon pleaded. Her heart was starting to break for him. She had to fix his soul.

"And why?"

"There is nothing to really fear!" sailor moon said.

Then, if by a strange twist of fate, Jadeite felt for the first time wore out with the pain. He knew that he had not won the battle for the last time. He finally understood what she was talking about. He fell over from the power for a second before disappearing from them.

The sailors looked at each other before Sailor moon said, "That was totally strange!"

Sailor Jupiter wondered out loud, "Where did he go!"

"I'm not sure!" sailor moon said as she shook her head very slowly.

The day for the moon kingdom to be changed from good to evil was just starting.

There was nothing like the summer to get away from it all. That what Keiichi believed in. he had been in college for too long. He and Bell were talking about taking a one tank trip up to somewhere fun.

He went to the library to look around to see what was available. There were craft-shows and there were a couple of low cost museums. Really nothing that caught his eye.

Belldandy and her two sisters were hoping to go somewhere safe. They were concerned for him. She wondered if the stories were true about evil forming to take people away. She could not let that happen.

He had no idea what was going to happen to him if he would let the fates take him. He knew Belldandy had a very strong will of protection when it came to him and megumi. He was always surprised to see Belldandy in action when it came to see evil creeping up from out of nowhere.

Skuld was her Benpei part 2 a complete re-haul. The winter and spring were completely hard on the little robot. She was outside on this warm day. She had a large plastic tarp with her little robot tore up in the middle. She was in the back yard.

Urd was sunning herself of all places a little further from Skuld. She could see nearly right into her class room at Salem Sr. high School. She wondered what was going with the summer help cleaning up the class rooms. The birds were signing happily as they flew past. It seemed like a story out of a movie from the 1940's instead of the early part of the 21st century.

Keiichi was outside in the front yard, polishing up his bike. He was going to take a spin with Belldandy riding on the back. It seemed great weather for it. Keiichi was also waiting for his mail to come. He had written back home to his sister Megumi in Tokyo. He hoped she was not goofing off during summer break. He had a feeling that Tamiya and Otaki were making her and Sora Hasegawa had to do all the work at the club. What was nothing at most of the time during the time that should be spent in studies in any case?

The phone rang in the kitchen. Belldandy was in the kitchen. She was cleaning the cabinets for the summer. She was going to be ready for the rest of the summer. There was talk about staying in Salem until next winter. She missed home with Keiichi terribly. She knew that when they were ordered to go to spend time in another part of the world, they couldn't ask any questions. They had to do it.

When Belldandy answered the phone, she said, "Hello?"

There was another voice which sounded like Peorth. It was a long time since she had heard from her fellow Goddess. She wondered why she was being called up by Peorth.

Peorth was sitting at her desk at the Goddess Helpline. She had to review the status of Belldandy's performance living another part of ht world. She said, "Hello…Belldandy?"

"Yes…this is her…" Belldandy said as she stood near the phone. She held in the other hand her cleaning rag. She felt the warm sun leaning into the window. She watched as Keiichi was taking out a large piece of metal to the drive wait. He was going to spray some water on the metal to get it washed. "What is that you want?"

"How are you doing?" Peorth asked.

"I'm fine. Everything is pretty much normal!" Belldandy said as she smiled. She heard Skuld talking to Urd. Urd was rolling over to her stomach to tan her back.

"You have no idea…" Urd grasped at her little sister. She knew that Skuld was going to be loud with her tools. She wished that Skuld was not there.

"And why?" was Skuld's statement.

"Summer here is very quiet!" Belldandy said as she looked the clock. It was going on four in the afternoon. The time was spent very carefully. Belldandy did not want Keiichi to slip away from her. "How is it back in Tokyo?"

Peorth was handed a large stack of papers. The first page was about the students at Nekomi Institute of Technology. There was so much going on without even Belldandy knowing that the shrine was in good hands. Peorth went over the list of the students.

She said, "First off…Megumi!"

Belldandy closed her eyes to see an image in her mind's eye of Megumi, Keiichi's little sister.

"She has been seen with a young man who going to NIT," Peorth said, sounding like a Hollywood reporter.

Belldandy asked with a hint of curiosity, "What does he look like!"

"Very charming…he looks like one of the gundam pilots on gundam seed. I think Athrun Zala."

"Who?" Belldandy asked as she wondered about what Peorth was talking about.

"It's a new show…they are working on. There were news leeks on what the people would look like! He's in his late teens, light green eyes and short, shaggy blue-black hair."

"And what about the others, Tamiya and Otaki?"

"Since you and K left, they have been trying to get a hold of new students. It's not easy…Keiichi must have a soft heart!" Peorth said. She recalled the stories that she had heard from earth bound creatures about the sad whole Tamiya and Otaki had placed the motor club in. it was Keiichi's job to keep things afloat with the whole club!

"I wonder if when we come back, would things change." Belldandy asked rather innocently.

"I'm not sure!" Peorth said, doubting the auto-club. "They are not all the sharpest blade in the knife box."

"Peorth!" scolded Bell dandy. She knew deep down the auto club would survive with or without Keiichi.

"What about you?" Peorth asked. She knew that Bell dandy could have lost Keiichi in Salem, but she was a goddess and needed not to fear.

"Everything is pretty much slow for right now…." Bell dandy said as she peeked out the window. Skuld was looking over her tool box.

"And Keiichi!"

"He's doing better. He had finished out his spring quarter in at YSU!" she said as she heard keiichi coming up the steps.

"Oh…" Peorth said as she remembered the time Keiichi was attacked for no reason at. He had a hard time getting bore the nightmares.

"And my sisters are doing well too!" Bell dandy added.

"Is urd up to her usual tricks?" Peorth tested. She knew Urd had an itch for spell casting and love position making.

"She got a job at the local high school!" Belldandy said as she had to think about the time when Urd had to show up at work, borrowing Belldandy's best dress. She looked like a prim and proper schoolmarm.

"There is nothing more that I want to ask for…" Peorth said as she placed the papers in a folder. She had an empty folder on the table. She wanted to know Bell dandy was ok.

Bell dandy hung up the phone when she told Peorth about seeing her in the fall back in Tokyo. She turned to look out the window. She noticed Keiichi was standing in the drive way with a hose in his hands. He had to turn the water on from the side of the house.

Keiichi looked from his view and said, "Hey!"

"What are you looking at?" Belldandy asked. She began to walk towards the window. She felt like opening it. It was still pretty warm out.

"Nothing…" Keiichi said. He noticed a few kids running up the street. It seemed pretty much a dull day for them as well.

"You want to pick up something at the store with me?" she asked.

"I would like to!" he said. He looked at her for just a minute. He had a feeling Belldandy was happy all day long. She must have found cleaning to be an uplifting chore. He asked, "What's up…you look like you have swallowed some happy pills!"

"What?" she giggled. She felt less homesick after talking to Peorth. She had to touch on her past if it was just a little bit. She had missed her heavenly home more than she realized.

"Your smile, you are so happy about…" he said before getting cut off by a voice.

"Do you guys see Sasami?" the voice said.

He looked around to see Tenchi and Ayeka standing in the drive way. There was a slight concerned look on their faces.

"No…I'll be she's at Rennie's. They were talking about going on to see Rio's teacher!" Keiichi said.

Ayeka was a little ticked off at her sister. She had to keep on an eye on Sasami as beset as she could. Sasami was starting to grow up more as she hung out with Skuld, Reenie, Chibi-chibi and Hotura. Little did Ayeka knew, Sasami had told Tenchi was going out for a couple of hours with Reenie and Hotura. They wanted to see the dragons that were growing on a farm outside of town. The farm was near the outskirts of Waterworth Memorial Park. Deep within the park laid a large path which had a clearing contenting to the world of Acardia. There were thin passageways between both worlds. Some were well hidden. Rio was going to see Master Poal and his wife, Kathlina. She had some questions about her family tree. Plus it was a hop over to the Acardia side to see at least her adopted son, Wolfsbane. He had to stay close to see his mother during the summer months.

"I did not see Sasami all day," Belldandy said.

"I guess…" Tenchi looked at Bell dandy and Keiichi with a sigh of regret, "…we have to move on to where Rennie lives. I hope she's at home!"

Deep within the forest of near the Waterworth Park, Rio was with her cousin Stephanie. They were taking their time on a nature hike before heading off to where Poal lived. There was long leg of peace and quiet as the two girls walked. They could hear in the distance back ground three younger girls talking. The other three girls were Sasami, Reenie and Hotura. They were lagging behind a little as they kind of strayed off from the path just a little.

Rio turned to glance around her shoulder just make sure; the other three were not getting lost. She had to a ton of explaining to the others if Reenie, Hotura and Sasami got lost. Rio was going to have a long talk with Jakten if he was there. He had been very busy with his work at the dragon farm. It was late spring and the young hatchlings were getting into mischief. He was not happy with the extra work. He hoped to see Merlin at least before the end of the month.

Stephanie said without looking, "What you lot looking at?"

The three girls were startled a little as Hotura picked up a long leaf. Reenie let out a shriek of surprise when she saw a long legged bug crawling aournd. Sasami just stared at the two in stunned silence. It was the first time three saw a bottle bug.

"What did you pick up this time?" Rio sighed. She had not only grown upon in the city of London, but she grew on her uncle's farm.

Stephanie and Rio stopped to turn around to see Hotura trying to touch the bug. Rio went over to see what was going on. She asked, "What do you have?"

Hotura a little afraid pointed out the bug and said, "That!"

Rio got on her hands and knees to get a better view of the bug. It was rather long in length. The legs were like wires stuck to the body. The body was short and thin. "How odd!" she said, trying to come up with an answer.

"It's a big bug…its looks like walking on wires!" Rio said as she carefully touched the bug.

The three girls let out another series of shrieks as it moved. Rio closed her eyes as she tried to block out the noise. She said, "Scream like that again and something else will come out of the woodwork!"

"How very intrusting!" a vioce hummed above the girls.

Rio did not move for just a minute. Her heart slammed in her chest. She wondered who it could be.

"How amusing!" a voice purred in Rio's ear? She froze with fear. At first she believed it the dark moon forces that been watching the girls and decided to strike.

Rio spun around as best as she could to see Frik standing there. She let out a yelp of surprise. Then, she bolted upright to see Frik in a better view. She asked, "What are you doing here?"

He tried to remain calm as he said, "I should ask you the same question!"

Stephanie just looked at the others with wide eyes. How Frik did knew where Rio could be found. She was stunned speechless.

"What are you lot doing here?" Frick asked with a surprised smile.

It took Rio a minute before even thinking about speaking. She looked Sasami, then at Reenie and finally at Hotura. She said, "I am just out for a walk...I want to see Poal!"

Frik pursed his lips into a prefect, "oh?"

Rio half shook her head. She had to wonder why Frick was alone. He had no trooping fairies, no elves and no Master Merlin with him. It was not strange to see Queen Knab at his side. She was with the High Banchee looking for a band of Green-men who were scaring off trolls. She sighed as she said, "I have to talk to him…."

Frick moved backwards in a graceful monition. He glanced at Reenie then at Sasami. He tried to smile at them. They were not going to smile so easily. It was like trying to make the girls feel like they were just walking into a trap. He wondered what was going with them, "Why do you look like that, girls?"

It seemed out of personality for Hotura to speak, but she said in a calm tone of voice, "You scared us…"

Frik feeling he must apologized to the girls said, "I'm truly sorry, girls. I just wanted to know where you lot are going!"

"Well, next time…please knock or do something to warn us!" Rio added. She was going to have a heart attack if she had to see one of Frick's tricks. The day was starting get strange.

"Why you don't see master Merlin!" Frick purred with a smile. He knew Rio was just a young girl who needed be to training in the old ways. Yet, he also knew she was too head strong to bend to anyone else's way.

"Uh," Rio wondered out. Her mouth hung open.

"Why?" Reenie asked. Curiosity was just eating at her with all if it's might. Why should they go and see him of all people.

"He just wants to know that if you have your second sight back or hot…" Frik started to back away from the girls. He looked at the girls for just a minute. His decision of whether to leave or not was a good thing. He had a vague understanding if the girls would get lost, then he would be really in trouble. He knew he had to be careful in the woods. The thin line between the two worlds was growing dangers. There was talk about Trolls and another beasties were coming around to visit earth from Acadia.

"What if I don't…?" Rio glanced at the others with a wary eye. She was going to regret not obeying what Frik wanted. "…we shall I say, we don't!"

"If you don't see him first…then, I have a grave idea someone else will see you before he does!" the words seemed to be so distance, Frik's smile changed into a caution look.

"What will he if I don't do that?" She asked. She turned to look at Frik.

"Nothing…" he smiled instantly. "But, there are some creatures that are looking for you that are if you don't show up!"

"Like who?" Rio asked. She did like to be psyched around by anyone without a good reason. She had dealt with Trolls, Globins and a couple of fries. She had hoped to see a Green-man in her lifetime. The idea of seeing at one was an idea she had since she had heard about them from her childhood.

Frik wanted to tell her about the people he had come across. These were natives of the area. Not even Knab knew who they were.

There was a note of wonderment for Rio in Frik's words. What was going on?

Frik asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?

"Is it my aunt?" she asked. She knew the day would have to come to see her aunt and soon. She said, 'I have to go and visit the old pickle puss!"

Frik let out a giggle and it was a loud one. The birds who were roosting took off in a huff. He spun around on his heels to change over to a young and very dashing long haired swordsman. He knew Rio loathed her aunt just a little. She wanted Rio to be a demure creature who never questioned anyone. Both of Rio's uncles had another plans. Uncle Ziegfeld taught Rio to be faithful of her own set principles of good and truth. He taught her the finer things in life where not always bought in the store. On the other hand, Uncle Anthony was an explorer of life. He took Rio to the creek near his farm house. She had learned both life and death as both sides of the coin as he raised her as well as the many cows, chickens and dragons on the farm.

They were going to have a staring contest one way or another. This was certain. Frik knew he was licked with Rio. Rio had to give sometime soon. She thought about the people who wanted to see her. Both of her Uncles had to take time to see her in the states when it was necessary. In fact, her Uncle Ziegfeld was coming to see her after he had seen a friend from Pittsburgh. He ordered Rio to be on her best of behavior when he got there. He had to be with at her aunt's tea.

"Who wants to see me?" she asked finally with her arms folded over her chest. She knew the person who wanted to see her most was her aunt. "It's my aunt…now is it?"

Frik was puzzled at Rio asking about if it was her aunt who had ordered him to tell her about a visit. He shook his head. Then, his face became grave as he spoke, "It's not a family member. In fact, it has to do with your Uncle Ziegfeld's housekeeper."

Instantly, Rio knew who it was. It was Marie the housekeeper. She has hired by her uncle to take of her and the house for many years. Marie had a strong bond with Rio. She had taught Rio to be quiet when the time called for it. Was this the time. "Marie…" riot's eyes grew wide. She was excited about hearing from the family. "Is she here?"

"No…her brothers…Hiram and Joe-Casey!" he said. He and others heard a roar over head.

Reenie's eyes bugged out when she heard the roar.

Hotura said in a reassuring tone, "It's probably nothing but a dragon!"

There was a second roar ringing out in the forest. "Maybe.." Rio said as she looked at the pothers. She knew the dragon farm was not too far off. It was summer and the males were trying to vibe for the females.

"And what you are going to do?" Frik asked. He was the only one who was calm throughout the roaring.

"You want to check it out?" Rio asked. She knew wild dragons would not attack humans for any other reason outside of being provoked.

"Maybe later?" Hotura said when she bolted upright in a straight standing pose. She felt her own heart beating like a drum machine. She reached over to take Renee's hand.

"What if we go to Poal's house? There might be a safe bet we can hide out there!" Stephanie asked, she took a long deep breath

A large dark cloud zipped past the tree tops. At first, Rio just stood there with her heart pounding away at her chest. She realized it was a dragon. She said, "Everything will be o.k. one, we get to Poal's house..."

Reenie felt like screaming. She looked at Rio and squeaked after a second of her own heart beating fast, "Are you sure!"

"Really...wild dragons don't hurt people!" Frik reassessed the girls. He raised his hands in mid-air to show the girls everything was very much calm. He turned to see a small blue-grey dragon about the size of a large dog was sitting on its haunches was now staring at them with a wild look.

Rio was now upset with the dragon. She knew who it was as she snapped at, "Julies Caesar. What are you doing here?"

The dragon raised it head to look at the others before lowering its head to glare at Rio. It leapt up into the air with a great deal of power. It was going to land on Rio. It did not know Rio was able to read its mind as she stepped back little. She was going to make sure the dragon was going land on the ground and not on her.

"Where is that stupid dragon…" an older man's voice could be heard in the forest.

Rio relaxed who it was. She said to her cousin, "That's Poal!"

The old herbalist stepped out of the forest and was a surprised look. He said as he noticed the dragon landing on a pile of mossy leaves. "Good heavens."

"He's going to be the death of me yet!" she said.

"Which one?" Stephanie asked as she walked over to where the dragon landed.

It was now sitting on the pile, appearing very dazed. It sat up to shake itself from the stunned landing. It looked like a long necked, pot bellied dragon with long wings. Poal looked at the girls and Frik. He was trying to stop the dragon from crossing over to the park. Having a wild dragon on the park grounds could have been a mess. He felt like he was very much responsible for raising such a stubborn dragon.

"Where are you going?" he asked the dragon, not even moving an inch as he stared anger with the strange beast.


	4. Chapter 4

The dragon feeling a little scared squeaked when it sat up, straightening itself in a taller manor.

"What did he do?" Rio asked.

Poal walked up to Rio with a sour expression on his face. He sighed as he dragged his walking stick behind him. He said, "That little pest…."

"And what did he get into this time?" Frik asked. He was just as surprised at the little dragon as the little beastie was at the girls. He watched as the little beastie started to walk around in order to see if the girls were friendly or not.

"Was the dragon in trouble?" Renee asked. She stared at the dragon as it started to walk towards Rio. It felt Rio's present. It knew she was going to be nice.

"And what makes you do these things?" Rio said as she rolled her eyes at the beast.

The dragon growled a little as it began to sniff the ground. It sensed something sweet on Rio's skin. She rarely used any skin softener during the summer. The dragon noticed Rio's feet. She had been wearing just plain tennis shoes. They were gathering up a great deal of leaves as she tried to make her way through to poal's house. She felt the hot breath of the dragon as she tried to stand still. What was it thinking of.

"Stop that!" she hissed.

The dragon started to purr like a cat. It must have inhaled something like cat nip. Rio bent down out of habit to take the dragon into her arms. She noticed how heavy it was. It squirmed a little bit as it wanted to stay on the ground. Rio chided it in the Green river folk tongue.

"Can we go see Miss Kathlena?" Hotura asked very quietly. She did not want anyone to be out if sorts because of a shortened trip to Poal's house.

"In a few minutes?" Poal said, nodding his head. He knew she was not use to being in a place like this. He could relate on how her reactions. He could tell when the girls had enough.

"I hope you can see your way through when you are charring that dragon!" Poal eyed Rio with a smile. He knew Rio had a kind, gentle nature.

"And why not…I have been hoping to the dragon was not too heavy!" Rio said as she felt the dragon squirming in her arms.

"You were going to take a dragon from the farm?" Poal asked.

"Yes…I am going to the other side of Sweet Heaven. You remember there was a doorway linking this world to ours. It's very much a neutral area…"

"You are going to visit, Granmps and Grandmere!" Stephanie asked. She knew Rio had to visit the elder of the clan.

Rio told the others they were going to follow Poal to his house. She had to get the dragon back to its home before too long. She also wanted to show Reenie, Sasami and Hotura at least a little bit of her home world.

The trip to Poal's home was not too far out from Sweet Haven. Rio placed the dragon in a holding pen. She made sure it was not going to leave any time soon. Then, she went to the big barn which was down the road from Poal's house. She heard Reenie and Sasami running down the road as fast as they could. They had just spotted a fairy. It was sunning itself on a very rare break. It wanted to be alone from the rest of the world. He decided to go and hide out in plain sight in weed garden at Katkeena's. It was quickly discovered by Reenie as she went exploring for wild strawberries.

The fairies stopped at the pen where Rio was finally placing there last of the pegs in the holder. She had to make sure the locks were tight in the bolts.

He noticed Rio standing there, looking over her work. He cried out in his loudest voice, "Your highness...your highness!"

Rio stood still for just a second. She swung around to see who was calling her. She noticed the fairie flying at an inscribable speed. It appeared surprised shock as it flew past her. She quickly held out both hands to catch the fairie. She cupped one hand as a net when the fairie came into view. Then, very quickly she placed the other hand, lacing the fingers together with a fast sweep. She held very gingerly, but with a care hold on the fairie, she held it up to study.

The fairie was trembling so much that his wings shook hard in the sun, managed to squeak out, "I'm begging your pardon."

Rio remained calm as she questioned him, "What's your name…"

"Shamus…Shamus MacDugloo, your highness!" then, he bowed his head for just a minute.

Reenie noticed Rio talking to Shamus. She quietly walked up to Rio.

"Are you taking stock of the forest?" Rio asked.

"Yes…until some pink haired child nearly smothered me with her hands!" Shamus sighed mournfully. He was just about to tell the horrific tale of his capture by Reenie, when he was interpreted by a boggle. The boggle had a long leafy coat and matted hair. He popped out of a rotting tree. He stood up about three feet high. Reenie let out a loud gasp when she noticed him. Reenie stood with her eyes on the ready to bug out even more. She did a double take at the sight.

"Why are you being chased? I thought you lot were in the deeper part of the forest. You know...near the connecting door Acarida and Earth!" she sighed. Then, she closed her eyes for just a second. She could sense Reenie's presence. She sighed, "Hey Pinkie...what are you doing?"

Hotura and Sasami were close to where Rio and Renee were. Hotura began to call out Rennie's name. She hoped Reenie did not get lost in the forest. Hotura walked up very quietly to Reenie. She said, "Reenie?"

Then, she waved her right hand in front of Reenie's face.

No response.

"REENIE!" Hotura shouted. Her voice made everyone turned to look at the shy young girl with purple eyes.

Reenie jumped about ten feet. She turned to see her best friend staring back at her. "What are you doing?" she cried out.

"Are you spacing out like Serena?" Hotura asked. She had to know what got Reenie into a staring into space like she was.

"No!" Reenie said, trying to not being attention to her. She was surprised to see the Boggle in the first place. The boggle had his attention drawn to the girls. "I just saw something…"

He stood up a little, tipped its left head dress at Reenie and Hotura before saying, "Begging your pardon, young miss!"

Hotura thought she was seeing things. Her heart skipped a beat for just split second. Then, she uttered loudly, "It talked."

Then, she passed out on a leafy clump. Reenie started to freak out by saying, "HOTURA!"

Hotura passed out for a couple of minutes. She was completely startled at the sight of a boggle. She felt Reenie trying to hold her up before sinking down onto the ground.

"Great...balls of gobby-gook interne snook," Rio gasped.

"What?" Shamus asked. He was a little puzzled by Rio's statement.

"Nothing!" Rio gasped. "It's something I made up years ago. It means nothing!"

Sasami and Stephanie were in the barn when they heard the screaming. They bolted out of the barn to see what had happen to Hotura, Rio and Reenie. Rio told the other two about what had happened to Reenie and Hotura. Hotura quickly woke up and stared at Reenie. Rio sighed, she had forgotten about earthbound human never seeing a boggle or even a fair. It seemed too plausible for the farie folk to be discovered that beasties as the earth was on a constraint change.

She quickly apologized to Hotura. She said with a concerned glance, "Sorry…there are more to my home world than meets the eye."

"I'm sure that I would be surprised a little less when I saw a moving heap of leaves the next time!" Hotura said as she blushed. She slowly stood up with some help from Reenie. She watched the boggle for any possible strange movements.

The boggle was a little taken aback by Hotura's statement, "A moving heap of leaves?"

"Hush!" Rio chided. She glanced at the boggle. She had unwrapped her hands from Shamus. Shamus excused himself from the crowd.

Stephanie and Sasami came up to the group. Stephanie noticed Hotura brushing the leaves off of her. She asked, "Did you get a shock…Hotura?"

"Yes, I did!" Hotura swallowed hard. She dared not to move away from the spot she was standing.

"There is nothing to hurt you here!" Rio said.

"You promise no one is going to hunt me down, like that big pink haired kid over there," Shamus barked out, pointing to Reenie.

Feeling a little ashamed, Reenie quipped, "Hey...I'm not that big!"

"Oh...to you...you are still small Lady!" Stephanie said as she glanced at Reenie. Then, she glanced at Rio, "But, to them...we are giants."

"To whom?" Hotura asked. She glanced at Reenie who felt a little surprised.

"I am big to the fairs….I guess!" Reenie blushed. She realized she was not only growing up, but there were things a lot smaller than she was.

"Look…I have to go and see Joe-Casey and Hiram in few minutes. Then, we get to see my grandparents after that. In fact, Serena and the three Lights are supposed to show with Ayeaka and Royko," Rio said as she glanced at her watch. She told both Shamus and the boggle to stay hidden for just a little while. After the outburst from Hotura and the staring contest with Reenie, Rio hoped that nothing else could not go wrong.

Reenie and Hotura stared wildly at Rio for just a minute, before staring at each other. They did not want her to leave so suddenly. Then, grabbing Rio by each hand, Reenie said, "Please don't go…"

Then, Hotura added, "It's so lonely without you!"

"What?" Rio said as she glanced at the two with a surprised look. She drew them close when she said, "It's just over the hill, a little past this area. I will be here in still."

Stephanie noticed that Sasami was not all that frightened. She was very much calm and cool while her friends were having a panic attack. Stephanie asked Sasami, "This place is not giving the willies?"

Somehow, Sasami was used to the fairies and other creatures. It seemed like home back in Jurai. She said as she turned to face Stephanie, "I've gotten use to a lot of strange things before. So, I might as well to just relax and as Jerry says, 'enjoy the ride!'"

"Yea…this place is not like home back in Tokyo…" Hotura sighed, feeling the dull ache of homesickness.

Rio was surprised and tried to save face at the same time, asked, "Would you to like to go?"

At first the two girls who were begging her not to leave, were now thinking about the idea of going to another world. With being sailor senshi, both girls wondered about taking such a possible risky trip. Rio said, reassuringly, "You don't need to worry about anything..."

"Are we going to be safe?" Renee asked. She heard stories of the Great War still raging on between the trolls and the rest of Acarida. She knew Rio was a strong fighter.

"I hope you can take charge of those two," Kathlena said as she walked past the girls. She had been gathering up herbs and roots to make some teas. She heard what was going with the girls. She had stopped in front of the dragon pens.

Rio glanced at Reenie to asked, "You need to stick close to me when we get to the edge. I don't need either Hakura or Serena flipping out on me!'

"Why?" Reenie asked. She was hoping to be a little braver in Rio's home world.

Stephanie picked up on what Rio was thinking. She said with a curious glance at three figures walking up the path. "Adventures can be a messy thing!"

"I'm kinda glad you did not get started on your trip," Seyia said.

"I can't start," Rio shook her head; she had to first talk to her friends. She wondered where Joe-Casey and Hiram will have run off to.

"And what do you think about this idea of being a normal girl is?" Seyia teased.

"It's nothing...very boring," she chided as she gave Seyia a cold, playful stare.

He gave it right back at her. Then, he smirked, knowing full well, she was just teasing him.

"Seyia?" Rio asked. She noticed Seiya and Taiki walking up to the girls.

"I hope you don't mind seeing us here?" Taiki asked. He glanced at the wild flowers growing like weedy chains along the path.

"No...Who's with you lot?" Rio asked.

"Hey," Ryoko said as she and Areca were also walking up towards the group.

Seiya placed a hand up to his chin as he thought for a minute. "Hmm...let me think."

"Haven't got all day..." Taiki scolded in a teasing manor.

"How about Serena and Rei…" Seiya said as he noticed the two girls walking up to the group.

"What about Mina and Yaten…" Rio asked.

"They are checking out something new. There was talk about a new Sailor v game!" Seiya said as he bluffed his way out of any hint being a sailor senshi.

Rio could see all sides of Seiya's statement. She smirked in her wonder when she asked, "How did they manage to pull that one out and Serena ended up with you?"

"She wants to see where Reenie was," he said. Then, he looked around for any sign of Steve or Dusty. He wondered what was going between Rio and Dusty. He knew they were very close. Was it a good idea for them to be so far away?

"Dusty will be coming later. He has to see my grandfather on my mum's side anyways. Steve is going to try out a new set of alt tires. He was asking by Tinny!" Rio said. She recalled the idea of tinny's inflections on the possible sales of new tires on motorbikes by a good tire company. He knew there was nothing better than word of mouth when it came to sales.

"I thought you were dating Terri?" Ryoko asked her famous loaded question at Stephanie.

There was always talking about Stephanie's dating habits. She head always two boyfriends and she never complained. She had always wondered about if Steve and Terri had a chance to voice their options. "I do…date Terri when he is free. Then, he's busy…then, I switch off to Steve!" she blushed a little.

The girls stared at Stephanie in disbelief expect Rio. Rio knew about Stephanie for years. Rio had stuck it out with Dusty since they were at twelve.

"He will come later?" Seiya asked. He had turned to ask Rio a question about him.

"Yes," Rio said.

"And what will you two do when you see your grandparents?" Ryoko asked.

"I have some clue about seeing my grandmother...it's been a while since I have seen her!"

Then, out of the blue, Kathlena asked, "What about your Aunt?"

There was something going that Rio had a strange feeling about. She asked Kathlena, "Where's Joe-Casey and Hamrin?"

With a puzzled look on her face, Katelean said, "I think they are still with my husband, Poal at the house!"

"Can I go and see them?"

"You can...but, be careful...there are greenmen still lurking about!" Kateleana ordered as she started down a second garden path. There were wild and tame berry paths that needed to be attended to. She turned to see the young people just still standing there with the peace of the world around them. She hoped they were going be unharmed for the rest of their lives.

Rio felt like she was being babied again. She sighed, "I will!"

"Where is she going?" Serena asked as she watched Kathlena walk down the path towards a dark patch of trees.

"She's going to the grove. There are trees that need special care and Kate has the touch!" Stephanie said.

"Yes, she has rose's brushes and wild golden grackle trees," Rio added. She turned to see another dragon making its way out of the pen as if it was a snake. It was a silvery thin type with a small head and long wings. She bent down to help it out with trying to free itself from the wiring. "What are you doing, Yaten?" she sighed.

Seyia not knowing the dragon had the same first name as his brother, asked, "He's here?"

Taiki watched as Rio held the dragon on her shoulder as it was a cat. "He's on Rio's shoulder!"

A little bit surprised, Seyia asked, "What's he doing on her shoulder!"

Serena for some reason started to laugh in her usual way. She pointed at Rio asked gasped, "It's a dragon!"

"He's a what…?" he uttered in a perplexed statement. He turned to see a baby silver dragon perched on Rio's shoulder. At first he was stunned speechless as he gapped. He uttered a few mutterings.

Then, Taiki asked, "Rio, why did you name that dragon Yaten?"

"Well, there was a birth in early January and I love you lot," she said, reaching blindly over to pet the dragon on the head. Instead she patted it on the nose. "So, I named the first three after you, Seyia and Yaten…Yaten is wilder than the other three. In fact, Taiki just love to stay in the barn after the two had left. Seyia is a charmer and hangs out with the girls."

"What do the other two look like?" Taiki asked. He was curious at the idea having a dragon named after him.

"If you would like to see them after we get done with my grandparents, then we can go to the barn and check them out…I bet even Atreides would like to see you lot!" Rio said.

"Atreides?" Ryoko asked. She raised an eyebrow towards Rio. She had never heard the name Atreides before.

Rio hoped her grandmother was doing fine. She had heard about the worry spell that seemed to control her grandmother. She wanted to tell her family she was doing just fine. "Yea, I have been reading Dune by Frank Herbert and the name came to me. It's house of a waring factor!" she began to swing her arms up and down.

"About your aunts?" Seyia said.

"I'm going to see them tomorrow or the next day. Then, there are the formal intros," Rio said.

"Formal?" Ayeka asked.

"Yes," Rio rolled her eyes towards the sky. She had her own set of friends. She did not like having her aunts telling who to go out with. They could stomach Dusty and his friends. Yet, when it came to Charlie (Charlotte) there was a slight divining line. "I have to introduce you lot to my aunts. I don't know why. I only get to see them maybe three times out of the year."

"Why such a fuss," was Serena's question.

There was nothing that surprised Rio about Dragons or being other creatures of her home world. She loved them much as Luna and Artmies. Her aunts could not understand why she wanted to be around the normality of the day to day life.

"You want to go with us, little one?" she asked the dragon. Turning her face, she stared the dragon. She heard a deep purr like noise coming from the dragon.

"You need to go to your grandparents first!" Kathelena said.

"You also to be on your guard!" shamus said.

"All right…let me answer Serena's question first," Rio sighed as she place a hand up to her chin. "One…my aunts are very old school. Everything has a place and a place for everything. They need to be known about my life!"

There was a minute of complete quiet before Rio turned on her heels to walk out of that part of the forest.

"I guess we have to get started, but first..." Rio thought out loud. She glanced at the trees to see where north was. She hoped that at least one tree had moss on it. "I have to go see Joe-Casey and Hiram!"

She had the dragoon resting on her shoulder. She had to go see her other friends by herself. She walked over to Kathlena's house with her mind at peace.

She walked over to another path. She was going to another part of the yard. There were many maples and oaks nearby. She knew there was good wood to be had for cavorting. Joe-Casey was a small man with short reddish hair and brown eyes. His thin face was that of a young man who seen the world in a blink of an eye. He waited for Rio to come to him. He heard the group of others who came with Rio. He knew Rio had many friends. He was glad she was growing up in a world full of hope. His long legged jeans and long shelved shirt seemed somewhat out of place. He was not staying very long. He had to go back up north. Rio walked quietly in order to be unheard. She hoped she could be felt instead of been heard or seen. She was using many of the training tools she was given as she tried to regain her sight. She could sense the water nearby at the river which flowed past the deviling long between earth and acarida.

She closed her eyes for a second. There were so many noises she had to block out for just a minute then, she could feel a warm body. She could smell leather and salt. She stopped walking to let her mound open up. She could sense the heart beat of another living creature. She slowly opened her eyes to ask, "Joe-Casey…is you here?"

After two minutes of waiting, Joe-Casey walked over to where Rio was standing find. He had to smile at the young princess of a foreign planet. He said, "I see you have done some growing up since the last time I have seen you!"

Riot slowly turned on her heels to do a double take on Joe-Casey. She said, "I have grown up some. My Uncle another told me that he will see me in the fall."

Joe-Casey knew Rio was going to be her own person. She was just beginning her life as an adult. There was no reason of doubting her own capitablies. He asked, "He's trusts you…?"

"I hope he does…my grandfather William had stopped over last April and visited me and my cousin." She walked past him for just a minute. He noticed her looking around for his brother. It seemed like they two were inseparable. She liked being around her Uncle's housekeeper and her family. "Where's Hiram?" she wondered out loud. She felt a black fly buzzing around her.

"He's here," Joe-Casey shrugged. He turned to really stare at Rio. There was something deeply wrong with here. There was pain of fighting which surprised him. He had a gift of insight which he was inclined to believe Rio had the same gift. He could also felt a great deal of loss. He acted friendly towards as he asked, "What's wrong…little cub?"

He smiled to her as she walked up the elder.

"It's nothing really," she said with a sour look. She had a feeling he was getting into places that he should not have been. Things were in her life was getting out of hand. She wanted to be as normal as they could.

"You are the best dang liar I have known!" he chuckled.

"What?" she gapes? She was trying red in the face. She wanted to turn and hit him in the arm at least.

"And you know when brother is right…he's right!" another voice said as a large bear of a man came up to the two.

"Hiram?" Rio groaned. She had forgotten how big Hiram was.

He glanced at her for the longest time. He knew something was up in her life. He heard his brother walking up to them. Hiram was a tall man with long black hair pulled into a pony tail. His face was long and childlike. His brown eyes were always fixed in a curious glance. He said, "Little brother...has,"

Then, he stopped and stared at Rio. Rio had done some growing up in the past few years since he had seen her. She blushed as she said, "Hey, Hiram...liking time no see!"

"Little cub…" he smiled shyly as he walked around her to see she had really growl up. "You are a woman now!"

"Well," she blurted out as she blushed even more. "…I've going to send you pictures and tell you guys about me and dusty…"

"When is the confirmation of the two tribes' engagement?" Joe-Casey asked.

"It's not until after my eighteenth birthday. I have so much to be thinking about…Dusty wants everything to be right!" she said with a slight blush to her face. She felt her cheeks cooling down a little as she wondered if she was going to see Marie.

"You need to be strong then as you do now…" Joe-Casey said.

"And when will you go back to you home world?" Hiram asked. He and his brother knew that Rio had to leave earth for a little while to realm her kingdom. She knew there was a battle beyond her wildest of nightmares just waiting for her back home in Acarida.

Rio gazed at the grass at her feet. There was a look great sadness. She had never been to her homeward outside of her dreams. "It's up to Grandfather. He is the king, you know!"

"Yea…we know!" Hiram nodded.

"There is a great deal of pain in your heart…what gives…little cub?" Joe-Casey asked. His glance mixed worry and curiously. He knew Rio had a secret, but here was something more to being herself than he asked for.

"It's nothing…" Rio sighed, shrugging her shoulders. She had to leave the Sailor Senshi a well kept secret. She had also a past which was coming back to hurt her in many ways. She did tried to keep peace her past together with the help pouf her friends. Still she had no idea where this searching was going to help her out. "I have been trying to have a good life and keep all of my powers in check!"

Joe-Casey had to smile as ghee knew Rio was stretching the truth. He smirked, "What a lair you are!"

"Uh?" Rio gasped her eyes bugging out. Did Joe-Casey know she was a Sailor Senshi? Her heart nearly stopped beating. She said, "What do you mean?"

Hiram smiled shyly as he understood what Joe-Casey speaking of. He giggled a little, "It's your powers…your dream time!"

Her face relaxed into a dead pan stare. She sighed, knowing full well what was going to happen next. All the ties she had in that natural world been cut to the quick. Was there anyway of restoring it four good. She had to face up that she could be still a princess and a sailor senshi, but with one less power to use. Rio said, "I was very ill and lost it!"

Joe-Casey wanted to shake Rio into the real world of restoring her powers once again. Was the restoration like that of Serena when she grew stronger as Sailor moon? She did not have any time to be thinking of what was going on in her inner world until she patched up the void. She looked at Joe-Casey. He knew there were inroads to her broken soul. How was he going to do the repairs? He had to think first.

"I want to say, that's no excuse for you to be like that…" he huffed as he stared at her. He knew it was not her fault. He heard from his sister Marie that Rio almost went blind. He had to get hart over to the dream time before the next winter. He had a feeling there was to be a great war to end the lives of Acardia as Rio knew it.

Rio blinked for a second. Her eyes were still burning from the drops she had to take in order for the illness to leave. Terri did not want to take any chances of the illness coming back. He warned Rio on over reading until her eyes were back up to full strength. She knew she had to keep on working at her eyes. She knew the others depended on her.

"What are you thinking about…little cub?" he asked. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him for just a minute. He had no idea on how much it meant for her to be that strong.

"It's nothing…" she sighed. She looked out on the empty stillness of the forest. She retold the story of what had happened to her as best as she knew how. There were a few choice blank spots in the story, but she had to be careful.

"Little cub…what will happen to your powers?" Hiram spoke up. He was very quiet as he heard the story from Rio.

"I'm not sure…" Rio sighed once again.

"Am I!" Joe-Casey said. His face started to ease into a state of great sadness. He had been carrying a heavy pain in his heart.

There was no point of turning back on him. She had to ask what had happened to him. He died look a little pale as he stood in front of her. He looked at his brother at first and said, "I went to the doctors!"

"And?" Rio asked as she tilted her head to one side. She gave a surprised glance.

"I had some blood work done..."

Then, Hiram loomed over his brother as he walked over to the two. He knew his brother was completely sad at his fate. "Are you going to tell her or not!"

Knowing his brother was bigger, but childlike in some ways, Joe-Casey said, "wait..I'll tell her in a minute!"

"Tell me what?" she asked.

Joe-Casey looked Rio. She looked like Marie, his sister when they were talking about his results. There was a pause before he told her. "It's very difficult for me to get my head wrapped around the idea!"

"I hear you!" Rio reasoned with Joe-Casey. She still had to be under Terri's care as she took the summer off from school.

"I had some blood tests done!"

"And?"

There was a slight tension in the air. Where this idea was coming from, Rio wondered. "What's the testing for?" she asked as she heard a bird fly past them. Hiram placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. He smiled little as he said, "Look...little brother...we are behind you all the way!"

"Are you sure...?" Joe-Casey asked.

"What did the test results end up telling you?" Rio questioned her friend.

"I've got cancer!" he uttered as he knew she was going to be shocked.

Rio shook her head. The idea was the bolt of blue that hit Rio nearly off of her feet. She had wondered if he was making something up. It was like having the rug pulled right from under her. She felt a little strange. What was going on with Joe-Casey? "Are you sure...?" she asked.

"You look like how I feel at first, little cub!" he said.

"There were a lot of papers that came with his results!" Hiram added.

"About doctors?" Rio asked. A minute or two of complete stillness seemed to fall like a ton of bricks. She had to look at Joe Casey with a stunned gaze. There were a few thousand questions that buzzed in her mind. What was gouging on with him.

"What think you have cancer?" she questioned him.

"I had a cough...!" he said. He had been through before with his sister and his other family members. "I thought I had a cold...it wouldn't go away!"

She had to think about the past. She was very young when she first met Marie. She nearly grew up with the idea of having more than one aunt. Although, Marie was a housekeeper, she was more like a mother to Rio than anything.

"Little cub...don't worry about me," Joe-Casey said. He recalled about how early the results were. Yet, there was something inside that needed a new host body, a power that even surprised Joe-Casey.

"I need to sit down..." Rio said. She felt the ground shifting very quickly from her feet. She walked over to a stump with an unsteady gate. She cleaned off the stump as best as she could before sit down. She turned to see her friends walking over to her. Her soda, "I got a letter from my uncle I haven't read yet and now this…"

"It's not you that has the cancer!" Joe-Casey huffed. He knew it was hard idea to take in for Rio, but he was the one had who to live with it.

Rio breathed slowly as she gave her friend a concerned look. There was nothing that she could do to help stop his cancer. She uttered, "You have it…but it effects everyone around you…don't you understand?"

"Yes…" he said. He had been told by his doctors that cancer even hurts those closest to the victim.

Then, Hiram asked, "What are you thinking about…little cub?"

"Are you thinking about what is going on with Bobbie McGee?" he asked. There was a point where Rio had to think about her past. She wondered if he was asking her what was going on with the people back home in London.

"I haven't heard nothing...I hope he's O.K!" she said quietly.

This was a friend from Rio's past. He was neither one of her uncle's many friendships. She had to contact him in the near future, but fate had something else planned for her and her Uncle Ziegfeld.

"What are you going to do…fight it out?" she asked. She glared at him with anger. She knew that he was telling her the whole story. She just did not like the idea of being the last one to know.

"Like you…I will fight," he huffed as he folded his arms over his chest. He knew she was leading up her own illness.

"Sorry…I should have told you sooner than now!" Rio uttered.

"You have your own life to live…little cub!" he shrugged.

She stopped herself from yelling at Joe-Casey. She wanted to be very posed as she handled the situation. She uttered at her friend, "What are you going to do with Marie...you two are close!"

"Yea...I haven't told her yet...I talked it over with mom and daddy...they at first were not happy," he said.

"And me too!" Hiram smiled as he added himself to the conversion.

Joe-Casey knew his brother was doing no harm. He said, "I had to tell you first...and why are you smiling...this is serious!"

"Because I have to…" he shrugged as he stared at his brother with a surprised look. "At least some has to!"

"I wish there was a way going back to complete restart of I found out!" Joy-Casey said. He could hear a male voice calling out for Rio. She was no longer a little girl who just simply climbed trees and ran with the dragons to avoid people.

Rio heard her name being called out for a second time. She had wondered if her aunts needed her. She said, "Stop at the house...there is something I need to go through."

"Don't take too long. I have caught a flight to JFK...then, to London!" Joe-Casey said.

Rio knew that Joe-Casey still had a wild sense of humor. She smirked, "I have friends who are looking at for me. Beside don't been so pushy. We have a ton to talk about!"

"I can see you are starting to be a grown woman little cub…you will come back before I and my bother take off?" he asked. He knew he had to speak to her quickly. There was something he wanted to give her to restore her powers once again.

"Yes…I am just plain curious to hear what you have to say about everything…"

"You want to have supper with me and Hiram?"

Rio glanced at her firmed, then at the ground. There was more to her than met the eye. She said, "I will maybe tomorrow. I have been living with some friends in tow, it really nice to be in as group like them!"

"Oh…" he tilted his head to one side. He wondered if Rio was still a little girl in some ways, still playing house.

"Don't worry about me…I am learning a ton with being on my own. There was so much I had no idea until I came here," Rio said as she smiled weakly.

"I hope you are learning more than just simple house work!" Hiram said.

"Yea…" Rio shrugged.

Rio retraced her steps back to where the others where. She noticed the others were not there. She wondered if they had gone to riverside near the entrance way to Acarida. She noticed a Green-man standing on a tree branch. She asked in her native tongue where the others had gone. He told her that they were going to the riverside as soon as she came back. She knew they were in safe hands as she had to leave them for little while. She asked the Green-man where the group went to when she had left. He told her they were following Kateleana to the edge of the forest. She knew a little of where the edge was. Yet, she wanted to be sure that he was not pulling a fast one on her. They were not known for their playful nature like other faire folk, but Rio had to be careful for there was still a great war raging in her home world and there were spies in ever little hidey-hole.

He sat on her shoulder as she walked along the path leading to the edge of the forest. They spoke of many things including her needlework. She was a very fine needle worker with the many color threads and flosses when she was at home in England. She kind of slacked off when she came to American. She had to get back into the swing of things if she was going to have a wedding trunk. She had to make her own special table linens for her and Dusty.

She wondered if her eyes were still strong even to see the holes in the cloth. She could read some small print, but she wondered about her eyes given up as she sewed.

"What are you going to do if you can't see the things you are making…" the Greenman asked. He was tall with long thin branches for limbs. As he walked he squeaked. He had been dressed in long thin grasses which covered his body like a hairy suit.

"There is other things I can make, but I do like doing the stitching," Rio sighed. Then, she heard a voiced singing. It was like the wind blowing in a tree. She could sense everything that was all good and green about the song. She felt herself being very much drawn into the music. She glanced around to see hazy landscape. The forest was a cool, dark green as bugs flew in and out of tree tops.

She knew who did the singing, one of many aunts who were not really part of her family. She called her aunt Enid by most of the children of Acarida. Enid was a fairy and was unable to have children of her own. It was due to a curse placed on her by the troll king. She was also known as the quiet queen of the fairies. Yet, when she sang she brought light until the world of Acarida.

Rio looked around for any other path which could lead in to danger.

There were floating balls of lights coming towards her in a sort of greeting. She sensed they were furies who were part of the trooping fairies that guarded the area near the gateway. She could feel their power. She asked them if they had seen Reenie or Sasami. One of the braver souls came up and said, "You have your mother's eyes."

"Thank you," she nodded. She felt the song pulling her in. she said to the Greenman, "Look...to see if there is anything that would trip us up?"

The Greenman was fast in his thinking. He knew off hand there was nothing to be alarmed about. He said, "There is no enemy nearby. Come…my child…you need to be here right now!"

His pale brown eyes seemed to be very truthful as he spoke.

"And what will I find here?" she asked as she started to come towards a clearing in the woods.

What she had met up with was a sight that she had not seen since she was twelve. She noticed a large ring of elves sitting on circle of leaves and they were singing. They stopped when they noticed her. They all stood up and greeted her. She swallowed hard, feeling her heart beating hard. Was she dreaming this or not? She came close to one who was nearest to her. On asking, Rio said, "I have some friends here. Where are they?"

The one who was closest to her was dressed in dark brown. It was a male elf who knew who she was. He spoke, "Milady…your friends are with your aunt. They are quite safe and comfortable."

Her heart slowed to a more normal pace as she heard the news. The elves were not with the Troll king. She asked, "Where are they now?"

"Come with me…" the make elf nodded. He held out a hand to lead Rio down one more path. There were lighting bugs dancing the air. She held her breath as she followed him. The feeling of entrapment was not there. "I have seen you have been growing in your role of a mother…" he said.

"Mother?" she asked. Thinking of what she was still. She was a high school student with a long way before even getting married. Then, she remembered Wolfs bane her adopted elven son. She smiled shyly, "Yes…I haven't seen my cub for a long time…"

"It has…we had word that he is going very well," the male elf said. The two stopped at a large ringlet of trees. Inside of the ringlet was a throne of sorts made out of large rocks.

When Rio came close, she was surprised to see her aunt Ciria sitting on the throne of stone. She said in a timid little girl voice, "Auntie?"

The young Faire Queen looked up from her hands when she weaving a simple spider like thread together into a neckline. She noticed Rio standing before her.; she smiled as she asked, "Are you seeking my audience?"

"Yes…" Rio said as she bowed slightly. She looked a little shy as she waitlisted for Queen Ciria to speak once again. She knew the true power behind these beautiful fairies.

Queen Ciria was a pale creature with large brown eyes and a short brownish black hair style... Her face was very much delicately drawn out with high cheek bones and medium chin and lips. She was thin and willowy which complemented her long white dress. Her wings were that of dragon fly wings which glowed in the moonlight.

Rio tried to look aunt for her friends. She could not find them after a minute of looking. She asked, "What's happened to me mates?"

Queen Ciria stood up from her stone throne. Her long white dressed spilled over to the ground in one large light fall of fabric. She asked one of the glowing balls of light who were floating rotund the area to found Rio's friends. The ball floated over to be Rio stood. Queen Ciria said, "You follow it and you will see your friends."

Rio knew she was not going to cross the gentle queen as she said, "Yes…ma'am!"

"One more thing…" the queen said as she pointed out to the young princess, "You need to be very careful. The Troll king doesn't know who you are just yet!"

Rio started to walk down the path that the male elf had pointed out to her. Then, he gave a low whistle to the elves that were paroling on the tree branches. She followed the ball of light until she noticed a large camp fire roaring away near the stone throne house of the queen. Rio had her ears peeked up at very minute she followed the light.

Serena was the first to see Rio. She called out, "Rio...is that you?"

"Yea..." Rio nodded. She drew close to the camp fire. She noticed how cool it really was.

"Who did you talk to?" Seiya's voice asked.

"I think it's my aunt…" she said.

"I wondered if Gramps is here…" Stephanie wondered out loud. She and the others were sitting on a few logs, trying to keep warm. The heat of the day was drowned out by the trees. The forest was indeed dense.

Rio walked over where Step hone was. She took a seat on a log. She had wondered why she not saw anyone else. She wondered if she was tricked. Then, step-in heard her name being called out. She asked, "Is that Steve?"

"Sounds lisle him?" Seiya said.

Serena hoped it was not far for her to walk to the edge. She had never seen another planet in her present day life outside of the moon and the kingdoms. She had noticed that placenta of Acarida was so different, she wonder she if she was awake.

"Steve was working on his bike…wasn't he?" Taiki asked.

"When I saw him earlier in the day….I was certain that he was going to stay in town all day!" Rook said.

"I hope he did over board with the repairers. He's such a tool boy!" Stephanie sighed.

The others outside possible of Rio knew what Stephanie was talking about.

"Don't you mean a cool boy?" Sasami asked with her innocent vice.

Stephaney smiled as she said, "No…tool boy…he loves to tinker!"

"That sounds like me…with a needle and thread, if I get start up again!" Rio said as she looked up at the trees.

All seemed a little quiet as the fire popped on. Then, a young Leprechaun flew past on a large bird with a couple fairies chasing him.

The group near leapt out of their skins from the sight. Rio gasped as she placed a hand up to her heart, "That's something you don't see every day!"

"Yea...this place is certainly different..." TAiki breathed hard.

Rio had to think there were forces she did not know about who were trying to smoke them out. Was there a way of finding out with very little help from Serena or other friends?

Seiya looked at Rio and wondered what was on Rio's mind. She had to see if she was being lead on by the Troll. She had never met up with the Troll king before. She had witnessed different henchmen from the Dark Moon forces. Yet, once or twice she had with her family when they were attacked by the Troll Kingdom. She knew who he was by the stories she had heard from her Uncles. Was this the first time she was going to met up with him. Rio stood up as the wind started to pick up just a little.

"Rio?" Seiya asked as he noticed her staring into another part of the forest. This was a part which was the most dark. He and Serena noticed Rio began to walk towards the path. It was like she was under a spell.

"Where is she's going?" Serena asked Stephanie.

"Nuts?" the red head gasped. She knew Rio was caught in a darker web of the dream time. She wondered if the others knew the spell could not be broken. As if she had to stop Rio from walking into a trap, Stephanie got up and started to walk towards the same direction.

Serena asked when she noticed Stephanie getting up from the log, "Where are you going?"

"To follow Rio… I have a bad feeling about this?" Stephanie said as she tried to follow her cousins.

Taiki had another feeling where Rio was headed for. He said to Seiya and Serena, "You two follow Stephanie…I will get the others!"

Ryoko asked, "You want one of us to stay here?"

Serena knew Reenie or Hour were not safe in the forest by themselves. She ordered Reenie to go back to where Paol had his cabin. Reenie at first protested at the order. She knew that Serena was going to have all the fun in fighting for right. Yet, this was not Earth. This was a strange planet with even more stingers creatures. Serene did nap want to take any chances.

Hotura asked, "Can we use our celphone?"


End file.
